E-news Number 27 for project teams and all those interested in Sustainable Farming in New Zealand

Dear all                He mihi nui ki a koutou

In this edition of E-news:

• Change in SFF Funding Round Timing
• Farewell to Fund Administrator
• Smarter not Harder - Improving Labour Productivity in the Primary Sectors
• Managing Clover Root Weevil
• Growing Arnica in New Zealand

Change in timing of SFF funding round announced

The timing of the Sustainable Farming Fund round is being altered so that the results of the Phase 1 assessments can be announced by mid December. This will allow applicants who are shortlisted for Phase 2 nearly three months to prepare their more detailed application. All final funding results will be available by mid April, over two months earlier than is currently the case.

Why the change?

Feedback from a workshop of SFF stakeholders last October indicated a strong preference for an earlier funding round for the following reasons:

• Many projects need to be contracted and ready to start in early spring - our current funding round meant that contracting could not always be completed on time for a spring start.
• Applicant groups were finding it difficult to prepare the Phase 1 application over the Christmas break for submission in early February.
• More time is needed to prepare the detailed Phase 2 application, once the Phase 1 decision is announced.
• The new dates should align better with the funding cycle of other industry groups.
• The change will also enable SFF to improve fund management across financial years. Delays in projects commencing means that grant money is not always able to be drawn down in the budgeted financial year.

What does this mean for the current and future funding round?

The 2009/10 funding round is now closed and the successful projects (seeking grant monies of $20 000 and over) will be announced at the end of June 2009.

Applicants seeking grant money for projects commencing in the 2010/11 financial year (beginning 1 July 2010) should note the following dates:

Are there any other changes?

Applicants seeking grants of $20 000 or over will need to submit a Phase 1 application (a four-page expression of interest) by 7 October 2009.

Applicants seeking grants of $20 000 or under will be accepted at the Phase 2 deadline (2 March 2010). Under $20 000 proposals will continue to be on a seperate application form from the larger projects.

There are no changes to the criteria, eligibility or intent of the fund.

As in the past, projects seeking grant money for projects on Climate Change (mitigation, adapation and other opportunities) will indicate this on the application form.

There are no changes to current reporting dates.

Interested in finding out more?

For further information contact your project adviser or call the Fund Administrator on 0800 00 83 33.

Further details will be available on the SFF website from early July onwards.

Farewell to Fund Administrator

Many of you will know Amanda Hall, our SFF Administrator, and will be delighted to hear that she is expecting her first child in September. Amanda will be leaving in late July for extended parental leave. We are sure that you'll join with us in wishing Amanda all the best for the future and thanks for her extremely efficient administration of the Fund for over six years.

We are currently seeking to fill Amanda's position and will advise you of the new contact shortly.

Smarter Not Harder - improving labour productivity in the primary sectors

Employers in the New Zealand agricultural sectors have been experiencing problems attracting and retaining staff. This is having a number of effects from existing staff being pushed harder and working longer hours, through to "retired" farm owners being forced back onto the farm. This only enhances the industry's reputation for long hours and hard work.

Dairy NZ, in collaboration with Meat and Wool New Zealand, and with co-funding from the Sustainable Farming Fund, has recently completed an extensive study on labour productivity using the dairy industry as a case study.

Twenty case study farms in Taranaki and Waikato recorded the time spent on key farming activities over 12 months. Owner operator properties with approximately 200 cows were selected for the study to minimise differences in time use due to scale. Some of the key findings were:

• On average the participant group required 3170 hours per year to operate their farm across all staff members. This ranged from 2075 hours to 4776 hours, a difference of 2701 hours, or 130 percent. The average of this group is equivalent to 15.2 hours per cow compared to the industry average of 19 hours per cow.
• It could be reasonably assumed that hours invested in the farm would be rewarded with greater output, however, this was not the case. The highest producing farm required 4776 hours to produce 87,000 kilograms of milksolids at 18 kilograms of milksoilds per hour, while the farm with the lowest time input produced 71,000 kgMS in 2075 hours at 34 kgMS/hr - a 90 percent increase in efficiency. Kilograms of milksolids per hour worked (kgMS/hr) averaged 23kgMS/hr worked for the 12 month period, ranging from 34 kgMS/hr to 15 kgMS/hour. This suggests there are opportunities to dramatically increase time use efficiency on farm.
• The time spent on milking varies between 46-68 percent of total time - by far the most time consuming activity. Dairy NZ is currently focusing on strategies to reduce the time spent on milking.

In addition to the case studies, farmers were invited to submit their innovations for making on-farm work more efficient. These innovations have been summarised as "Tips and Ideas" (click here). As the final report concludes:

"Capturing innovation is a challenging process as people tend to look for the next 'big thing', and 'widget' that will change their life. In reality, innovation more often occurs in small steps and it may be a widget but equally it may be a system or process improvement. Each idea may seem to present only a small opportunity on its own but cumulatively the effect can be large."

The Smarter Not Harder project built a level of awareness and body of knowledge within the dairy industry that did not previously exist. Some of the learnings should be applicable to other agricultural sectors.

Interested in finding out more?

Download the full technical report from the SFF website click here (1.33MB PDF).

To read more about this project on the SFF website click here.

Managing Clover Root Weevil

Clover Root Weevil (Sitona lepidus) has been a pasture pest in the northern regions of New Zealand since the mid 1990s and is now present throughout much of the country. Clover Root Weevil (CRW) affects clover production and survival and reduces the ability of clover to fix nitrogen. The weevil could potentially cost the pastoral economy around $400 million per year.

The New Zealand Clover Root Weevil Action Group is a group of farmers determined to find some "here and now" solutions to raise awareness of the pest amongst farmers and to better control its impacts. The group has just completed a Sustainable Farming Fund project "On Farm Management of the Environmental Impacts of Clover Root Weevil" in conjunction with the New Zealand Landcare Trust and AgResearch.

Adult clover root weevil (photo courtesy AgResearch)

A combined management approach is required to maintain healthy and productive clover in the presence of CRW. Findings from the project are available through a website and a rainproof pamphlet, designed to be widely available to farmers. Some of the recommendations for clover management presented in the resource materials are:

• Applying small amounts of nitrogen fertiliser after grazing in spring and autumn can help clover withstand CRW larval attack on roots and nodules. The appropriate quantities of N will vary with the individual farm nutrient management plan.
• Pasture renovation using a non-host plant break crop such as brassicas or maize, removes pests such as CRW and nematodes so clover can be re-established into a "clean" site.
• "Clover friendly" pasture management such as intensive grazing in spring enables the clover to compete with the grass and thrive. Conversely, sufficient pasture cover in summer protects clover stolons from burning in direct sunlight.
• AgResearch is distributing a parasitic wasp throughout New Zealand. The wasp acts as a biological control to reduce the size of CRW populations (although it is currently ineffective in Northland).

Interested in finding out more?

To read more about this project on the SFF website click here or visit the Clover Root Weevil website www.cloverrootweevil.org.nz

Growing Arnica in New Zealand

A growers' guide for the commercial production of arnica in New Zealand has been developed with co-funding from the Sustainable Farming Fund. The booklet is aimed at providing potential growers and primary processors with information on growing the crop, particularly in the South Island.

Arnica (Arnica montana) is a perennial herb from the daisy family. It grows wild across Europe, although it is now a threatened species over most of its natural range.

The fresh whole plants, dried flowers and dried roots are used to manufacture high value pharmaceuticals. There is a growing international demand for arnica as it is used as a medicinal ingredient in physiotherapy and sports products as well as cosmetic and personal care products such as soaps and shampoos. New Zealand has a good opportunity to commercially cultivate arnica flowers and roots for the international markets.

Arnica was first identified as a potential new crop for Otago when the Dunedin Botancial gardens were established in 1863. Research in the late 1980s helped define the key quality constituents of the plant as well as its agronomic and environmental requirements for our temperate climate. In the SFF project, the New Zealand Arnica Growers Group and Crop and Food Research (now Plant and Food Research) trialled arnica establishment and production at experimental sites throughout New Zealand.

The fifteen page booklet summarises the results of these trials, as well as providing information on arnica use, growing requirements, flower production and yields and returns.

Interested in finding out more?

You can download the booklet "Arnica montana - a growers' guide for commerical production in New Zealand" by clicking here (1.31MB PDF).

For more information about this project on the SFF website click here.

Ending

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Kia rongo korero ano matou i a koutou

Kind regards
Amanda, Denis, Diana, Helen, Janine, Louise, and Nic.