Federated Farmers Dairy Chairman, Lachlan McKenzie

I hope you all found time to recharge yourselves over the winter period. Here at Federated Farmers Dairy we are having to gear up for another busy year.

The first issue for dairying continues to be the environment. We have recently heard that regional councils are going to target dairy farmers on effluent compliance. Regional councils have had bad press lately from the Minister for the Environment, Dr. Nick Smith, so are feeling a little bruised. Sadly, I feel that councils are going to take out their frustration (caused by their own shortfalls) on dairy farmers. So please ensure your effluent system is operated correctly. Make sure all staff know what is required and carry out all duties every day.

Do a ‘Farm Enviro Walk' with all staff. Let everyone know what needs to be done and what areas need to be monitored.

There are two areas of concern:

• effluent ponds too full or overflowing
• irrigators not being shifted correctly 

Please be careful out there. We do not want any prosecutions.

The other big issue the dairy industry will have to come to terms with is the benefit or otherwise of our co-operatives, with Fonterra considering a change to its capital structure.

Let me use Dairy Meats NZ Ltd as an example of what happens with the demise of a co-operative. Dairy Meats NZ Ltd was set up for the sole purpose of dealing with bobby calves and returning profits back to the member dairy farmers of the co-op.  In the last few years of Dairy Meats' existence, I received similar dollars for my bobby calves as I did for my lambs, which was about $50. Then the meat companies, with limited affiliation to dairy farmers, decided to get into the bobby market. Dairy farmers deserted their co-op for a few extra dollars per calf and Dairy Meats sold out to AFFCO in 2005. Now what do we have? Lambs selling for close to $100 and my bobby calves worth less than the milk I have to feed them for four days.

Here is one comment I have heard from a meat company. "I do not know what dairy farmers are complaining about; bobby calves are only a by-product."

What an arrogant statement. You will hear all the excuses, like pelt prices have come down, veal is down, and the dollar is up. Go to America as I have, and see the price of veal in the deli. Veal is a high quality protein that attracts very high prices at retail. The prices for the end products - veal and leather - are still on price parity with the end products of lamb, yet in New Zealand we have an $80 difference in pricing.

I ask, what has it cost us dairy farmers in letting Dairy Meats, our co-op, go?

When the Federated Farmers Dairy Executive met recently, we reviewed our performance against our strategy, which was set a year ago. We think we have done pretty well, though more work needs to be done to get fairer outcomes for farmers.

Lachlan McKenzie
Chairman
Federated Farmers Dairy

Dairy Conference - Federated Farmers Dairy held its annual conference in Auckland on 30 June, where they discussed how Federated Farmers works with DairyNZ and Fonterra to get the best outcomes for farmers. Federated Farmers Dairy then joined Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre members to hear Mike Peterson, of Meat & Wool New Zealand, talk about the Commodity Levy Act Referendum and what this means for meat producers.

Remits passed:

• That: Federated Farmers Dairy asks the National Board to look into the rights of property and how to better protect them.
• That: Federated Farmers Dairy re-emphasise its support for the continued efforts in Tb vector control with the ultimate aim of eradicating Tb from New Zealand.

The AGM returned the same Executive as last year, again led by Lachlan McKenzie. To see who is on the Federated Farmers Dairy Executive or to contact them, please click here.

Sharemilkers' AGM and Leadership Day - The Sharemilkers' section of Federated Farmers met at Wellington in June to discuss ways of providing more value to Federated Farmers sharemilking members. The AGM saw Jeff Bolstad re-elected as chairman and Ciarán Tully elected to Vice-chairman. To contact the Executive please click here.

Having the event in Wellington gave the sharemilkers the opportunity to visit Parliament, where they met Taranaki-King Country MP, Shane Ardern, a dairy farmer and Federated Farmers member. A session with Tim de Lautour, director of Employers Assistance Ltd was also held and gave the group plenty to think about in their role as employers of staff.  Employers Assistance Ltd's services are available to all Federated Farmers members via the 0800 FARMING (327 646) number.

Sharemilker Employers' AGM - The Sharemilker Employers' section of Federated Farmers held their AGM at Hamilton in June. Derek Aislabie, of DairyNZ, talked to the group about DairyBase, a web-based system for recording and standardising annual farm physical and financial information. The AGM returned Scottie McLeod as Chairman and Bill Laurence as Vice-chairman.  To contact the Executive, please click here.

Variable Order Sharemilking Agreement 2001 - A review committee consisting of three members from both the Sharemilkers and Sharemilker Employers' sections have gone through the Variable Order Sharemilking Agreement, making some very minor changes and clarifying some of the issues. The committee hopes to have these ready to go though the parliamentary process by the end of this calendar year.

Farewell to Frank - At the recent Federated Farmers AGM, Frank Brenmuhl was voted out as Federated Farmers Vice-President.  This ends his time as an office holder within the organisation.

For many of our current and past provincial chairpersons and executive members, Frank is synonymous with Federated Farmers Dairy and all things to do with the dairy industry.  Always available and with a wealth of knowledge, Frank was a ‘must' at a host of events around the country. His ability to stand up and deliver on any topic was something to behold, and I have seen Frank reduce the most zealous, passionate and one-eyed questioner to grudgingly accept the facts ‘as presented by Frank', with no hard feelings on either side - a rare and valuable talent.

Since I have been involved with Federated Farmers Dairy, I have seen Frank come through the ranks, culminating in his term as chairman of the section. I felt that he was an asset for all Federated Farmers Dairy members, as he represented us in various arenas on a regular basis, again in a way that did not alienate one group from the other.  However, this is not to say he backed off from confrontation. Far from it, as he went head to head with his opposition on numerous occasions, including a certain Mr Bryce Johnson and a particular water quality campaign.

It has been a pleasure to watch Frank in action and as Federated Farmers President, Don Nicolson, said, "I am sure we have not seen the last of him".

Robin Barkla
Federated Farmers Dairy Executive member.

To contact Robin, please click here or call 027 218 213.

Dairy industry leaders' forum - Andrew Hoggard, Executive member of Federated Farmers Dairy and John Barrow, Federated Farmers Dairy Provincial Chairman for Tararua, write of their progress with the Horizons Regional Council.

Representatives of the Horizons region have recently helped initiate a dairy industry leaders' forum through regular meetings with Horizons Regional Council. The forum consists of representatives from Federated Farmers, Fonterra, DairyNZ, a retired regional councillor and a dairy industry director. Councillor and forum chairman David Mead, regional council chairman, Garrick Murfitt, and senior council staff attend on behalf of Horizons.

To date, discussions have focused mainly around effluent compliance and the following changes for the forthcoming season have been made:

• Farmers will be notified in writing of impending visits by the council, with perhaps some ability to re-schedule if the given time is inconvenient.
• Farmers will receive a copy of the marking sheet at the end of the inspection, similar to that of a shed inspection. This will give an indication of the standard of the effluent system and highlight any area needing work before non-compliance becomes an issue. This is a huge improvement on past systems where farmers often felt they were left in the dark until stung by non-compliance.
• The marking sheet system will also serve as a record of the past and current standard of a farmer's effluent system. This will allow farmers to track issues and changes as well as provide consistency between inspectors from year to year.

We will be continuing this dialogue with council and will be working on more improvements to the way Horizons' interacts with its rate-paying dairy farmers. If you have concerns or queries, please feel free to contact your local Federated Farmers Dairy representative by clicking here.

Representatives from both council and the farming community on the dairy industry leaders' forum are united on the front that they expect effluent disposal systems to always operate in a manner that does not lead to contamination of surface water.

To contact Andrew Hoggard, please call 027 230 7363 or click here to email.
To contact John Barrow, please call 021 0268 0683 or click here to email.

Bobby Calves - With calving looming or already underway, it's important to remind ourselves of welfare requirements in relation to bobby calves. How we treat these calves reflects on us as an industry and it is easy for those who have an axe to grind to take practices and actions out of context and place us in a bad light.  Modern technology easily broadcasts any malpractice and often there is no balanced story to go with the ‘facts'.

So, with that in mind, please ensure that any calves you send away are fit and healthy for collection and transportation.

• These calves need to be fed and sheltered no differently from replacement stock.
• It is best that all calves for collection are stored away from public view and under shelter.
• Any slinks ready for collection need to be kept out of sight from the road.

Finally, given the tight times we face this year and the low returns expected for bobby calves, it may be your choice not to struggle with weak or small calves.  You may well feel the most humane option is to euthanize them early rather than rearing them for four days and then have them endure the journey to meet the same fate. If so, farm owners need to make sure euthanasia is performed by them themselves or by a competent and willing staff member. While the use of blunt force trauma is acceptable under the current Code of Welfare, Federated Farmers Dairy encourages farmers to use either a rifle or captive bolt gun.

To find out more, please visit the following websites:

MAF Biosecurity
DairyNZ

Take a deep breath - At this busy time of year, it can be highly stressful when you are approached by someone who wants to ask questions, video or watch what happens on your farm. Take a deep breath. Negative exposure will impact on both yourself and the dairy industry. So here are some tips to help you deal with visitors to your property:

• Handle calves and all animals humanely.
• Be polite. Anyone can video or photograph when on public property including over the fence.  You have every right to ask the visitor what they are photographing or videoing and what they intend to use the images for. You can also request that they do not use your image but be aware they do not have to do what you ask.
• If questioned on animal welfare, don't get into a debate. Simply say that the animals are being handled in accordance to the guidelines set out by the Ministry of Agriculture.
• If the questioner wants more information, tell them they can contact DairyNZ or MAF.  Contact details can be found on the internet and in the phone book.
• Politely say that you need to continue with your work.
• If asked to debate the issue, don't.  Repeat your previous answers. 
• Remember that conversations, debates and questions need more than one person to make them work.  You don't need to provide that second person.
• Get on with the job and move on as soon as possible.
• Talk any issues out later with your local Federated Farmers representative, your neighbours or a friend.

Quick points for a busy season - A few pointers to help make this busy season run smoothly.

• Check the quality of silage, both your own and that which you have bought in. Mouldy silage will cause real problems for you and your cows.
• Wash your hands often and well, especially before preparing food for your family and eating.  Scouring calves and rotavirus in the shed could cause your family to fall ill.
• Antibiotics and milk do not mix. Check withholding periods for antibiotics and keep milk from these cows separate.  Make sure you have simple, effective instructions on how to do this.
• Read to your children at bed time. This will bring a sense of reality into your life, which is probably, by now, full of calving stress!

Agribiz - For the latest market update from Westpac's economics team including the outlook for dairy, beef and lamb, please click here.  

Rural Press - Looking to advertise to rural New Zealand? Well, look no further. NZ Rural Press is the country's largest agricultural publisher with well known and respected titles including Straight Furrow, The Dairyman, AgTrader and NZ Lifestyle Farmer. We offer all Federated Farmers members a 10 percent discount on their advertisements. Please call 0800 55 55 44 now to place your advertisement or click here to visit the Rural Press website.

Free Agrichemical Handling Course - Open Polytechnic and GROWSAFE® are offering a free one-day course in handling and using agrichemicals. The course is a step towards an Introductory GROWSAFE® Certificate and an Approved Handler Certificate, which will allow you to legally buy and use agrichemicals. For more information, please call 0508 650 200 or click here.

More members' 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.

Employment contracts and agreements - The Federation's online shop stocks a range of contracts to assist with your farm business.  Remember, it's a legal requirement to have an employment contract for EVERY employee so if you don't have a current employment agreement, then order one now by calling 0800 FARMING or  click here.

Contracts, agreements and leases - These include land, stock, contractor; sales and purchase, agreement to grow, log books, access pads and Over Dimension Certificates. Call 0800 FARMING or click here.

E-contracts, e-agreements, e-leases - Members can purchase online, electronic Federated Farmers contracts and agreements. Click here to log in and purchase.

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.

Federated Farmers of New Zealand
PO Box 715
Wellington 6140
Tel:  04 473 7269
Fax: 04 473 1081
www.fedfarm.org.nz

Staff Contacts

Dairy policy advisor
Ann Thompson
Phone:  0800 327 646

Executive Contacts

Chairman
Lachlan McKenzie
Phone:  07 332 3440
Mobile:  021 382 442

Vice-chairman 
Willy Leferink
Phone:  03 307 2666
Mobile:  021 796 037

Vice-chairman
John Bluett
Phone:  07 825 9709

Executive
Robin Barkla
Phone:  07 323 6958

Executive
Andrew Hoggard
Phone:  06 328 9677
Mobile:  027 230 7363

Sharemilker Representative
Jeff Bolstad
Phone:  07 884 4127

A full list of the Federated Farmers Dairy team can be found by clicking here.