Ashburton Courier: June 18, 2020

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Page 22, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday June 18, 2020 Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Rural&Lifestyle Students primed for ag nationals Mid Canterbury school children from Longbeach and Hinds schools are gearing up for their online AgriKids grandfinal tomorrow. It’s part of aweek long grand finalsweek for AgriKids and FMG JuniorYoung Farmer of the Year contests;the young farmer competitors started aseries of handson activities this weekahead of theirgrandfinal tomorrow. In the finalAorangi is representedby two teams, both from Geraldine High School:Nicole Wakefield Hart with Hannah White and James Rowleywith Robert Furrer. Longbeach School pupils EdwardPottinger, Tabitha White and TessMacdonald, Hinds School pupilsKate Sheppard, Alison Harbutt and Morgan Harbutt and Longbeach Schools LiamLash, Aiden Smollett and Milli Pottinger will compete against 18 others AgriKids teamsfrom around the country. New Zealand Young Farmers CEO Lynda Coppersmith said it had been amammothefforttoturn the whole Grand Finalinto an online event. “The eventsteam,the family of sponsors and everyone else involved has put ahuge amountof work in to completely reformat the GrandFinal, doingsomething we have never done before,” she said. “It’sbeen incredible to watch and Iamsoproud of the team for putting this together, as wellasall of the NZ Young Farmers member volunteers,competitors, teachers and parents who havehelpedout alongthe way and have been just as excited as we are to hostit.” The first task for the FMG Junior YoungFarm of the Year competitors was to completea farmlet challenge with both teams in each region goinghead to head at various locations nationwidelast Saturday. Overall, Northern Regioncousin duo from OkaihauCollege, Nick and Zoe Harrison, took out the challenge and are currentlytopping Primary exports up Primary sector exports are on track to grow by $1.7 billion on last year helping underpin New Zealand’s Covid19 recovery, says agriculture minister Damien O’Connor. “Overseas consumers are now more than ever looking for healthy, New Zealandmade food. We’ve seen that with the sustained demand for fresh fruit, particularly in Europe and North America and the strong demand for red meat in China,” Mr O’Connor said. “Our farmers and growers are in astrong position to help us reboot our economy. ‘‘Along with the sector, the Government is focused on creating more demand, pursuing greater market opportunities to generate higher export returns and growing rural communities with new jobs.’’ In lieu of the June 2020 edition of the Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI), Ministry for Primary Industries released the Economic Update for the Primary Industries, showing for the yeartodate primary industries export revenue is tracking 4.5 per cent ($1.7 billion)higher than the previous year. Dairy exports were particularly strong since the start of March, up $512 million (12 per cent) compared to the same time last year. Chinese meat imports surged in the second half of 2019. The animal protein shortage, due to the African swine fever outbreak in China, should help support prices and demand over the next year. Therewas astrongstart to the season for apple and kiwifruit exporters with revenue up $274 million (18 per cent) on last year since the start of March. Mr O’Connor said the report provided asnapshot of how Covid 19 disrupted New Zealand’s primary industry exports. the leader’s boardout of the 14 teams. Volunteers from Young Farmers’ Clubshelpedtofacilitate and judgeeach regional event where teams had to create a tumbling composter using abarrel. They then had untilWednesday to hand in their innovationprojects for judging and were giventheir speech topics for tomorrows final, which also includes and online exam and aseries of modules. The top fivepoint scoring teams will progress to a‘face off’ competition to battle it out in a Young Farmer of the Year styled quiz. The AgriKids teamswill also be going head to head in an exam, modulesand completing an agritask. The top fiveteams will thenhead into afinal ‘race off’. There willbelive updates online as well as alive stream of the face off and awards ceremony through the Teen Ag Facebook Page. Farm software tool Overseer improved Farmers and growers will now find it easiertomodel onfarm nutrient flows after additional improvementshave been made to OverseerFM. OverseerFM, afarm management softwaretool, allows users to divide theirproperties into ‘blocks’ with each block typically representing areas with similar physical characteristics and management practices. However, anew “Simplify” function in OverseerFM allows users to merge blocks with the same attributes withinasingle analysis and display onscreen. Blocks can be grouped together if they have the sameattributes such as pasture, crops and fruit or management activities such as fertiliser, effluent andanimals. AgriKids Aorangi regional winners Tabitha White, Tessa Macdonald and Edward Pottinger, of Longbeach School. Overseer Ltd chief executive Dr CarolineRead said the improvement has been made followingfeedback from subscribers. “Farmers and consultants regularly told us that the number of blocks requiredinthe old legacy softwarewas aproblem. In legacy, each block could only have one soil and up to asingleirrigator. In many cases, this resulted in analyseswith avery large number of blocks.’’ It was timeconsuming and at times proved difficult to understand. “Someofthese blocksare also very small,and as such, have very little impact on the results,while still creatingacostfor maintaining the analysis.’’ Hinds 70th plough Ploughman Cliff Begg took out the title after apoints recount in the Vintage Open competition of the Hinds Ploughing Association match at Hinds on Saturday. The points error was picked up the following day and gave him awin over secondplaced Bruce Graham and thirdplaced Lionel Parnham. Roger Smith and Dave Allan placed fourth and fifth respectively. The ploughing match, the 70th for the Hinds association, was at the property of Ian Lowe on Swamp Road and saw 26 ploughers take part in near perfect conditions on grass soils. It was aslight frost in the morning which turnedinto asunny calm day. Other results went to: Silver Plough qualifying first Ian Woolley, second Adam Mehrtens; Vintage qualifying first Pearce Watson, second Robert Weavers; and Horse plough first John Chynoweth and second John Booth. 2244415
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday June 18, 2020, Page 23 Property Brokersare openfor business and herefor you! Circles, Bubbles and Water Over 150years ago our forebears left the Emerald Isles and the Mother Land heading across the water to the ShakyIsles. Theyleft behind them the povertyand uncertainty of lifeastheyhad known it formanyhundreds of years and setforwardwith anticipation and trepidation around the circle known as the globe to Down Under. With pioneering spirt combining intellectand sharehardwork and determination theybuiltour country generally around agricultureasweknowit today. ForSale Manylanded in good pockets of soil and harbours and in destinations that were akin to their country on the other side of the world. We hereinCanterbury were fortunate enough to have amultitude of soil typesthat areonflat land suitable forharvesting crops. Over the next 100 years New Zealandproduced the meat, fibreand grain and other produce from these soils. Fast forward100 years and we have the introduction of the borderdykeirrigation system during the 1930s whichfacilitated even more production off these flat lands. Fast forward another 50 years and the 1st well in New Zealand forirrigation wasdrilled in ourown back yard at Seafield by astutefarmer challenging ideas combinedwith scienceand again determination to change his land use. The professionals surrounding him, the thought train out of Lincoln College which he wasanold boyofand the cando attitude of the drilling crews of the day saw this to asuccessful conclusion.Iwasinvolvedinselling this farm in the 1990’s as this gentleman retired to town. Thereafterwehave water bubblingupall over the South Island suitable forgrowing all produce and taking aleadfromthis innovation that we had in our district.Originally 150 years agothe onlywater was at the Rakaia, Ashburton,Hindsand Rangatatarivers and our County Councilhad implemented 26 creekstofeedthe sheep, we nowhaveprobably 2600 pivot circles to feed the world. Since then other collection methods have poppedup and manylarge circles nowappear between Wanakaand Cheviot. 94 Thews Road ForSale The vegetables and production from our soils and our harnessing the intellectual property and techniques involved in establishing growing/storing and exporting from our island in the bottom of the south pacific surrounded by water is nothing but outstandingand it is attributable to the pioneering spiritthat is in our DNA. As in the circle of lifesome things don’t change as we sentprimary produce to the Mother Land we nowlook forwardtowhereour markets will be all around the globe over the next fewyears. TheCovid bubble and the shakeup which the international markets have enduredwill makeusagainlook at howand whywedothings in different markets and with different cultures. Even through Covid lockdown nothing much changed in the evolution of farm sales in New Zealand. Our mortgaging system and attention to securities which we inherited from thehomelands has allowedthe Banking system and business to continue the cash flowthroughout our society via our bubble but in large circles of trust and love. Property Brokers have been fortunateenough across New Zealand to be transacting manyofthe rural land sales in the North and South Island. Because of our soil type the circles and the waterI’m surethat ourdistrictiswell positioned to featureagain over the next while in manyofthese transactions. 112 Wakanui Road Auction We just need to join the dotsand circles, nowweare outofJacinda’s Kindylets pop the bubbles and get this showonthe road. Robert Harnett Greg Jopson 027 447 4382 Chris Murdoch 027 434 2545 Rodger Letham 027 433 3436 Paul Cunneen 027 432 3382 Robert Harnett 027 432 3562 185 Chatmos Road pb.co.nz Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008
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Ashburton Courier: June 18, 2020

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