Ashburton Courier: February 27, 2020

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Page 16, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday February 27, 2020 Local news at www.starnews.co.nz AUTUMN CULTIVATION Farmers, contractors urged to use Spreadmark standard New Zealand Groundspread Fertilisers Association president John Schultz. Farmers and contractors are urged to look to Spreadmark to help mitigate environmental risk when spreading fertiliser and other nutrients. The call, from the New Zealand Groundspread Fertilisers Association (NZGFA), comes as members from across the organisation’sseven regional branches reported a downturn in farmer confidence was causing some farmers tohold off buying fertiliser until they figure out how best to tackletheir environmental responsibilities. NZGFA president John Schultz says groundspreaders accredited to the Spreadmark scheme can help farmers navigate those environmental regulations when it comes to applying fertiliser and other nutrients. ‘‘Farmers are not alone in this. Spreadmark spreaders have been mitigating environmental risk for nearly 25 years, since the standard was developed,’’ he said. Spreadmark, New Zealand’s fertiliser and nutrient spreading standard, is internationally recognised by JASANZ (the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand). Its purpose is to ensure that Business owners fertiliser is accurately placed in locations where it can be of the most agricultural benefit and least environmental harm. Under Spreadmark, accredited ground spreaders had to have certified spreading machinery, highly trained operators and independently audited quality management systems to ensurethatfarmer/ grower outcomes are met and environmental sustainability is maintained. ‘‘Spreadmark accredited ground spreaders use sophisticated GPS technology to ensure the precise application of fertiliser and nutrients. Importantly, this technology provides proof of placement and facilitates accurate record keeping to fulfill compliance requirements.’’ Proof of fertiliser and nutrient placement will increasingly become soughtafter by authorities and food processing companies, as environmental regulations tighten and auditing in the primary sector escalates. Build customers,sales and profits,with us ... Print, Online and Mobile 24/7 Over 16,065 copies delivered every Thursday Arundel Orari Bridge Geraldine Staveley Mount Somers Alford Forest Valetta Mayfield 77 Ruapuna 77 1 ContactJann Thompson 03 308 7664 jann.thompson@ashburtoncourier.co.nz Ealing Ashburton Forks Moranan Maronan Hinds Lowcliffe Methven Winchmore 1 Willowby Lauriston Ashburton 1 Wakanui Chertsey Rakaia Chief scientist appointed Overseer has appointed Dr Jacquie Harper as its first chief scientist as it invests in improving OverseerFM software for farmers and growers. Overseer chief executive Dr Caroline Read said the appointment of achief scientist reflects Overseer’s commitment to transparent and scientifically robust development ofthe tool. “We want to work across the science sector to ensure credibility of the science behind OverseerFM and to support ongoing capture of new science innovation into the software. “It is important that we strike the right balance between ensuring scientific rigour and incorporating new innovation to support New Zealand farmers to achieve the environmental outcomes asked ofthem.” Dr Harper is leading Overseer’s science strategy and will be focused on embedding a robust, evidencebased science framework that integrates agricultural and environment science and innovation into OverseerFM’s model development pipeline. She will also strengthen engagement with science and industry so Overseer can ensure itremains the best modelling tool for New Zealand’s primary sector. Dr Harper brings extensive expertise in science strategy, evaluation and translation to the role. She has led Dr Jacquie Harper science and science evaluation across a range of disciplines, including biomedicine, chemistry and engineering and is a current member of the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee. “The science in this area is rapidly evolving and we need to ensure the continuous improvement of the OverseerFM tool is supported by atransparent and scientifically rigorous process for translating science into practice,” says Dr Harper. Water storage vital The New Zealand government needs to focus on water infrastructure to protect it from climate change headwinds and vulnerability, says Irrigation New Zealand chief executive officer Elizabeth Soal. “If New Zealand wants to continue to prosper, and if we want tofortify ourselves against climate change headwinds it is imperative we invest in water infrastructure,’’ Ms Soal said. “We need a sensible, bipartisan water strategy, guided byaWater Commission and we need it now.” Her comment came late last year after the Government finance minister Grant Robertson announced $12 billion oninfrastructure projects; $8billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to the multiyear capital allowance. Among the projects was $6.8 billion for new transport projects, with asignificant portion for roads and rail, $400 million oneoff increase to schools’ capital funding, $300 million for regional investment opportunities, $300 million for District Health Board asset renewal and $200 million for public estate decarbonisation. “The new investment is forecast to increase the size of the economy by a further $10 billion over five years, with further positive impacts onGDP beyond that period,” Mr Elizabeth Soal Robertson said, at the time of the announcement. With debt low and borrowing costs at record lows, the conditions are right for the Government to invest to futureproof New Zealand. While the irrigation body supported the investment to ensure New Zealand was futureready, they were concerned there was not asufficient focus on water infrastructure. “There is acritical type of infrastructure left off the spending priority list,’’ Ms Soal said. “We only need to look at our neighbours in Australia to see how vulnerable acountry can become without aplan for water. “More and more frequently, we are seeing the effects of major weather events and climate variations on river flows inour own backyard, which affect water availability, groundwater recharge, and soil moisture patterns. The impacts of these are felt in both rural and urban communities. We are already seeing this now with extreme rainfall in some parts of the country,while other areas,such as Northland are close to major drought conditions. “The significant flood of the Rangitata River in South Canterbury...has demonstrated this clearly. ‘‘The Mayor of the Timaru District has said that the event shows just how ‘resilient we aren’t.’ “To be truly resilient, we need tothink not only about how our current infrastructure responds to these major events, but we need to think about how we can manage water better in the first place to minimise and prevent negative effects on lives, property, and the environment. “There is currently an increased public focus on water quality, protecting highly productive land (including land that has access to water for productive purposes), improving ecosystems and indigenous biodiversity, and supporting the cultural health of our waterways. ‘‘This can be supported by preparing for, and managing, flood and drought events through investment in strategic water infrastructure. ‘‘Let’s talk about water infrastructure now, before the scars of climate change get too deep.’’
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday February 27, 2020, Page 17 AUTUMN CULTIVATION Farmer confidence up Farmers are feeling slightly more positive than they were six months ago but very few believe general economic conditions will improve in the year ahead, according to the Federated Farmers MidSeason Farm Confidence Survey. It was completed last month by nearly 1,500 farmers. Federated Farmers economics and commerce spokesperson Andrew Hoggard said higher commodity prices were boosting farm incomes and there was a slight rise in profitability expectations over the next 12 months. However, concern about regulation and compliance costs is unabated since our July survey. Of the farmers who responded to the survey, conducted by Research First, just on 46 percent of them expected economic conditions to worsen over the next 12 months. That’s afive percentage point decrease on the July survey finding and the first positive change in forwardlooking expectations since that benchmark peaked in July 2017. However, there was no change in the very small proportion of farmers who expected conditions to improve (4 percent). Just over 46 percent expected no change in economic conditions (up five percentage points). ‘‘That negative sentiment, albeit slightly improved, is consistent with the findings of other recent business confidence surveys,’’ Mr Hoggard said. Dairy farmers are the least pessimistic about economic conditions ahead but are still in negative territory, while arable farmers are the most pessimistic. Compared to July last year, the proportion of farmers expecting their profitability to improve is up three points to 24 percent, and those expecting it to worsen is down four points to 21 percent. ‘‘There’s abit of buoyancy over sustained strong commodity prices generally and there’s anoticeable 9point increase in the number of farmers who expect to reduce their debt over the next 12 months nodoubt in part due to the squeeze coming from banks,’’ The survey showed arable farmers had the highest proportion making aloss and the lowest proportion making aprofit. These cropping farmers were by far the most pessimistic about profitability for the rest of 2020. Arable farmers are most optimistic about increasing production in 2020. Somewhat perversely, arable farmers were the most optimistic about increasing production in 2020 (34 percent expect to increase production and 56 percent to maintain it a2.4point net rise) while dairy farmers were more pessimistic (19.5 percent anticipate increasing production, 65.5 percent expect to maintain it a 15.6 point drop on the July 2019 net score). The January survey showed regulation and compliance costs, especially in the environmental space which will likely impact farm production and the cost of doing business, remains the single greatest concern for farmers. Just over 20 percent of respondents selected it as their No.1 concern. Climate change policy and the ETS came in as the second greatest concern (17 percent) and in third place was anew worry freshwater policy (11 percent). ‘‘Everyone in the agricultural sector is wondering where the government is going to go with its final decisions on standards for protecting waterways. ‘‘We’ve voiced our concerns loud and strong that if the initial impractical proposals floated last year are not tempered with a more targeted and practical approach, pastoral farming will become uneconomic in some area,’’ Mr Hoggard said. Awards open for groundspreaders Nominations are open for the second annual 2020 New Zealand Groundspread Fertilisers Association (NZGFA) Awards. It is the only awards scheme specifically for the ground spreading industry and aims to celebrate excellence in the industry as well as raise the profile and understanding of what is involved in the ground spreading profession. The awards, with nominations closing on April 17, fall into four categories the President’s Award, the Innovation Award, the Health and Safety Award, and the Young Achievers Award. NZGFA president John Schultz said ‘‘agriculture and food production starts with pasture and crop growth, and it’s our job to ensure that growthenhancing nutrients are applied accurately and evenly to intended areas only. ‘‘This is askilled task for which ground spread operators undergo significant training.’’ The standard means customers can gain peace of mind their environmental responsibilities around nutrient spreading will continued. Nomination forms, award criteria and terms and conditions are available at www.nzgfa.co.nz/ awards and all category finalists will be invited to attend the NZGFAs 64th annual conference in Christchurch in July. 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