Developments

Hawke’s Bay farmers are taking part in a predator control trial using game-changing technology. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Land Services Manager Campbell Leckie said the trial, starting in late October, will see 200 predator traps armed with wireless monitoring technology trialled throughout Hawke’s Bay. The trial is part of Cape to City, which is a wide scale predator control and ecological restoration programme covering over 26,000ha of land between Hastings and Cape Kidnappers. Mr Leckie said a small trial of the wireless technology was undertaken earlier this year, and after some modifications, the next stage is now ready to begin involving farmers, landowners and restoration groups in up to eight rural areas between Mahia and Central Hawke’s Bay. The trial will test the connectivity of the wireless technology in a range of environments and climates, as well as establishing the best way and how often users are notified that the traps have been activated. “Wireless technology will make it much more efficient for farmers to clear and check traps. Rather than having to regularly check every trap, they will only have to check the ones that have been activated. The new traps have long life lures and a wireless transponder which sends a text message or an email notifying where and when the trap has gone off,” says Mr Leckie. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Predator Control Specialist, Pouri Rakete-Stones, and his team will monitor the trial and make sure farmers find it easy and safe to use the traps. “We will be working closely with the landowners participating in the trial to see what works for them and what improvements could be made,” he says Another aim is to significantly reduce the cost of ongoing pest control through the wireless networking of traps, along with the long life lures. Currently […]

Using a computer is now an essential part of running a farm business so a course teaching farmers the basics has attracted investment from the red meat sector. Two years ago Pongaroa-based farm consultant Rachel Joblin ran the first basic computer skills course to meet demand from members of her local community. It was such a success the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) is now funding a nationwide rollout. Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is the major investor in the building people and capability component of the profit partnership, of which the computer course is a part. B+LNZ CEO, Dr Scott Champion says the course fits with RMPP’s philosophy of helping farmers develop skills to make use of existing products, rather than inventing new ones. He adds that an increasing array of services are being offered online. Having the skills to use them will help farmers make more informed decisions and better manage their businesses. “Computers are fast becoming an essential farm management tool and through its investment in RMPP, Beef + Lamb New Zealand is pleased to help make these computer courses available to farmers throughout the country.” Rachel’s involvement in setting up the computer course happened almost by accident. She explains that she was approached by farmers within her community who wanted to develop basic computer skills. She investigated options but found no trainers locally, so decided to do it herself. The course is very much aimed at developing the basic skills farmers need to run their businesses. Starting at just turning the computer on and understanding what they are seeing to sending emails and using search engines. “There are so many ah-ha moments when you see whole new worlds opening up to them.” Many farmers have been relying on family members to use the computer for […]

Health and safety is the ‘hot topic’ of the moment. “How do the legislative changes affect me and business?” This is the question we’re frequently asked at Primary ITO. People are also uncertain about what is actually needed to ensure their business is safe and compliant. So, what are the answers? There are many information seminars running that will help to answer these questions, but then, what do you do? How do you begin to develop your plan, or where do you start reviewing your current plan and checking that it’s still fit for purpose? Primary ITO has developed a new workshop ‘Managing Health & Safety’ that will help you overcome these initial barriers, and get you on the road to developing a safer primary industry business. Firstly, you’ll need to bring your existing health & safety plan with you. Then, the hands-on session will help you identify what you already have that meets requirements, what you already do that is good practice and should continue doing, and the gaps in your plan and how to fill them. There’ll be an interactive discussion session on the recent changes to the health & safety legislation and what they actually mean for your business. You’ll also have time to talk to other business owners and managers about the problems they’ve faced and techniques they’ve used to overcome them. Most importantly, you’ll begin to develop your plan. At the end of the workshop, you’ll know what you need to do next and how you are going to do it. Information is useful, but knowing what to do with it once you get back to your business is absolutely key. “The workshop helped to remove the fears we have around the health & safety requirements for our business. It was also great to meet […]

“There is growing pressure on the boards of irrigation schemes to understand the liabilities of nutrient management on an individual shareholder and catchment basis,” says IrrigationNZ Chairwoman, Nicky Hyslop. “Irrigation scheme boards have a responsibility to get this right in order to prevent consents being breached,” says Mrs Hyslop. “In response to this, IrrigationNZ, along with the Institute of Directors, will be offering a workshop on these issues in mid-October. “Directors need to understand the importance of assessing their scheme’s nutrient management risk, getting the strategy right, their role and responsibilities and the consequences if things aren’t well thought through and executed. “Managing water and nutrients responsibly is fundamental to all irrigation and it is now expected that irrigation schemes have governance expertise on nutrient management. “We hope that this workshop will help upskill and educate more scheme directors in what needs to be done,” said Mrs Hyslop. Course information The new ‘Risk Essentials and Strategy’ workshop will be launched with the help of the Institute of Directors. The one day course on 14th October will be jointly presented by Andrew Curtis, CEO of IrrigationNZ and Giselle McLachlan, a director and lawyer with significant background and experience in governance. She has served on a number of boards, including the Earthquake Commission, and sat on a number of audit and risk committees (one as Chair) with particular expertise in compliance, HR and project governance. This workshop will focus on irrigation schemes’ directors understanding their role, responsibilities and potential liabilities in this new era of nutrient allocation and management. It will include assessment of risk appetite, alongside the identification and evaluation of risks and a Health & Safety component. More information about this workshop can be found on IrrigationNZ’s website www.irrigationnz.co.nz/training. Or you can contact Chris Coughlan on ph (03) 341 2225.