Environment Southland is investigating a possible wallaby sighting near Te Anau after a contractor identified possible wallaby scat and a detector dog found the potential presence of an animal in the area. 

Environment Southland said a wallaby has, however, not been confirmed by professional sighting.

Biosecurity and biodiversity operations manager at Environment Southland Ali Meade said wallabies are exclusion pests in Southland, meaning there are no established populations.

Meade urged locals not to go out looking for the potential pest, but let trained professionals do their work.

“Public interference risks the success of the operation and increases health and safety issues during the work. It also puts our efforts to maintain wallabies as an exclusion pest at risk,” Meade said.

Wallabies can cause significant economic and environmental impacts as they eat grass, native shrubs and trees. They can damage pasture and fences, add to erosion issues and damage young tree seedlings.

There have been two reports of wallabies near Te Anau this year, with three reports on the Te Anau-Mossburn Highway since 2022. 

No wallabies were found after any of the reports, except for a live wallaby found in Invercargill in 2016.

A spike in lamb casualties and a shortage of feed supplies are worrying Southland farmers amid spring snowfalls and an uncommonly wet September.

Slink skin processor NZAGRI Development technical adviser Eddie Zhi said wet weather and recent snow in Southland meant an increase in lamb casualties.

Since he set up shop in August, Zhi said, collectors have brought him over 70,000 lambs – but more than 25,000 of those were collected this week alone after snow hit the region.

Collectors usually collect lambs once a day, but this week collectors have been out on two collection runs a day because of increased casualty rates, he said.

Rates increased so much he is now looking for extra collectors.

A spokesperson for Environment Southland said in the first 16 days of September, parts of Southland had already recorded 200% more rain than the long-term average for the entire month.

A MetService spokesperson said Lumsden had received 131mm of rain so far this month, while the September average is 66.2mm, based on data from 1991-2020.

Winton dairy farmer and dairy chair for Federated Farmers Southland Bart Luijten said the branch has been receiving calls from farmers wanting to offload cows in the short term, so they can minimise damage to land during wet soil conditions.

Despite the province having a feed surplus for much of the year, feed supplies are now low in some regions of Southland, Luijten said.

Some farmers are milking once a day because of low feed supplies, he said.

Farmers are trying to mitigate the impact of current weather and feed conditions in any way they can.

There is some hope as rains are predicted to ease over the next couple of days, he said.

He advised farmers to talk to friends and not isolate themselves when times are tough.

“Everyone is in the same boat. We’re trying to do our best, but there are things out of our control.  You might just have to lower expectations and make decisions day by day.”

Luijten said the Southland community is rallying to help each other, with silage contractors who can’t work because of wet weather helping farmers feed out so they can have a day off.

A Facebook post for the branch asked anyone with spare feed or the ability to take on cows to let the branch know so they can be put in contact with farmers wanting to shift cows for the short term.

Balfour arable farmer Blair Drysdale said the wet weather has been holding up growers’ ability to apply fertilisers.

He said there is a small window to apply growth regulator to autumn-sown wheat and barley, and he is considering using a helicopter to apply it as it is hard to get machinery into paddocks.

Crops have had “wet feet for too long” and might drown, Drysdale said.

He also runs sheep and is feeding out as he has feed shortages.

Head weather analyst and owner of WeatherWatch.co.nz Phil Duncan said soil moisture maps from NIWA don’t show anything too alarming, but some parts of northern Southland might be wetter than usual.

“Snow events in Southland are quite common in September. The Southern Ocean weather is especially stormy this year with particularly low air pressure. This means stormy lows normally parked nearer to Antarctica have the ability to shift much closer to southern NZ. This September and Spring have a higher than normal chance of winter outbreaks, so Southland and Otago are clearly in the firing line for that when it does happen,” he said.

In Focus Podcast | Sheep outlook: the future of our flock

Sheep farmers are doing it tough right now, with farmgate returns dropping back after a few good years and input costs rising. Add to that the march of pine trees across the land, and there’s talk of an existential crisis. Bryan asked AgriHQ senior analyst Mel Croad to give him the lay of the land and asked her what the sector needed to do to find prosperity again.

The Southland farm community is facing uncertainty with unclear messaging from Environment Southland on nutrient limits, targets and timelines for freshwater rules, says farmer and council deputy chair Jeremy McPhail. 

At an Environment Southland public strategy and policy committee meeting held last week, the council confirmed nutrient limits will form part of the 2027 plan change but “what these will look like is yet to be determined”.  

McPhail voted no to a 2025 plan change, expressing frustration about the process and the lack of information the council is providing to the community in regards to setting nutrient limits and targets.

Councillors reached a number of resolutions at the meeting. 

Changes to the Southland Water and Land Plan and Regional Policy Statement, giving full effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, will be notified by the end of 2027, and earlier if practicable.

The council also confirmed messaging around freshwater reforms.

The council will be working with communities over the next two years to develop catchment plans that detail the actions the community wishes to take to improve freshwater.

“Those responsible for the greatest environmental impact will need to make a greater contribution,” an Environment Southland spokesperson said. 

“Limits will form part of the 2027 plan change but what these will look like is yet to be determined.  A reference period will be used in the future, and we encourage landowners to record information from the last 10 years (for example, a reference period of July 2014 to June 2019) on land use area and type, stock types and numbers, fertiliser use, and actions adopted on farm.”

The council directed staff to continue scoping a plan change to the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan and Regional Policy Statement to set long-term goals, address minor issues and enable improved environmental practice for notification in the first half of 2025.

Earlier this month the council said in a press release that, despite the government announcing a pause to the rollout of the national farm plan system, in Southland implementing farm plans is underway as they form a key part of the Southland Water and Land Plan.

Environment Southland chair Nicol Horrell said while there’s some detail still to be worked through around timing, farmers should start pulling together the information for farm plans.

As part of the 2025 plan change, Environment Southland will be updating the farming rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan to provide an option of using a farm plan as a potential alternative to some consenting requirements.

A damning report on the failure of OSPRI’s IT upgrade did not come as a surprise to stakeholders.

Farmer’s Weekly reported last week that OSPRI has apologised to farmers and shareholders after major flaws were found in a technology upgrade project.

An independent review of its Information Systems Strategic Programme (ISSP) identified issues with the technology project, which was meant to integrate its animal disease management and traceability systems.

Southland dairy farmer and chair of OSPRI’s farmer committee Nigel Johnston said the issues had been evident for years.

Johnston said that in its annual reports for the past three years, the farmer committee had highlighted concerns about IT issues, the slow progress to fix them and a lack of accountability. Working groups had asked for an independent look into the matter, with the independent review highlighting failures the end result, he said.

NAIT uses old technology, is cumbersome and because of the age of the technology there isn’t a user-friendly phone app, he said.

The decision to upgrade the software platform was made five years ago, but the ensuing project had “significant cost overruns, mainly because we wanted to do it once and do it right”.

Despite setbacks, a well-made “skeleton” now exists. It provides OSPRI with a workable solution without requiring too much further farmer input, Johnston said.

Compliance is still possible and relatively easy for dairy farmers, especially those who use third-party software such as LIC’s Minda, he said.

Farmers running beef as part of their operations and who work directly with NAIT will  experience some user-friendliness, he said. 

OSPRI tried to make a future-proofed solution but ran out of money, he said.

Recent changes at OSPRI “refreshed the focus” on the project, he said.

Ospri chief executive Sam McIvor said OSPRI is currently undertaking the work to redefine the future NAIT replacement solution. The goal is to develop a system that is more user-friendly, more efficient, cost effective, and ultimately saves time for farmers, he said. 

“The focus will be on ensuring the system effectively supports farmers needs while improving traceability and disease management capabilities.”

It is important to note that the issues highlighted by the review relate to future technology at OSPRI only, McIvor said. 

“OSPRI is currently in a replanning phase, which will take up to six months. During this time, we are developing a realistic and achievable roadmap to complete the NAIT replacement. Once this phase is finished and the programme plan is approved, we will be in a position to confirm the timeframes for delivery of the new system,” McIvor said.

“We will only announce a new delivery date when we are confident it is both financially sustainable and achievable within the timeframe.”

The current NAIT system is functional, and the data farmers provide continues to improve and support the disease management programmes at OSPRI, he said.

Chair of DairyNZ Jim van der Poel said DairyNZ was disappointed with OSPRI’s performance in relation to this project and the findings of the review of the ISSP.

“We are working with shareholders Beef + Lamb NZ and Deer Industry NZ, as well as [the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)], the OSPRI board and recently appointed CEO to take urgent steps to get this project back on track.

“It is important to note the ISSP IT issues relate to a technology upgrade and do not affect the functioning of NAIT, the TB Free Programme or M bovis eradication. 

“Earlier this year shareholders, supported by MPI, requested an independent review of OSPRI’s IT system rebuild. We made a strong contribution to the terms of reference for that review to extract clear information about the ISSP, due to concerns about delays, lack of reporting and questions about the accuracy of the information shareholders were receiving regarding this project.” 

OSPRI’s efforts to get the project back on track will occur alongside shareholders progressing recommendations for constitutional changes to strengthen OSPRI’s governance, transparency and technology capability, he said.

In Focus Podcast: Full Show | 13 September

Heavy snow has caused power outages and concerns about feed reserves in Otago.

Federated Farmers high country chair Andrew Paterson, who owns Matakanui Station near Omakau, said they have had three inches, or 7.6cm, of snow since Thursday night “and it is still falling and forecast to keep snowing today”.

Paterson said he is concerned about feed, as the area had a poor autumn and winter.

“Most of us have had a tough winter, and we are short on feed supply.  Normally you get to this time of the year and the grass is growing and winter is over. We’ve had a really tough winter and autumn with the drought. Now we’ve got snow with essentially no or little feed reserves left.”

Paterson had been shearing hoggets and had to stop because of a power outage on the farm.

“All the sheep that we’ve shorn from the latest shearing we’re putting back into the wool shed and under cover,” he said.

Aurora Energy reported power outages in Queenstown, Cromwell, Alexandra, Omakau, Glenorchy and Wānaka.

Media reports said at 7am this morning power was cut to 3500 homes in Otago.

Paterson said because the area often has snow in the first week of October he does not start lambing until then, with most in the area not lambing until late September.

Head weather analyst and owner of WeatherWatch.co.nz Phil Duncan said Otago is more exposed to moisture from low pressure nearby and had a higher risk for snow this morning.

“The low-pressure zone will create some areas of more moisture today. Otago is getting more snow because weak low pressures can be more unpredictable, but add more moisture into the colder air. Snow showers are no different to rain showers and our hills and ranges can make some heavier, others miss out.”

There will be winter weather conditions in the lower South Island over Sunday and Monday and with wind chills below 0degC, he said.

“The whole system is slowly moving northwards today and weakening. Conditions will clear from the south today,” Duncan said.

In Focus Podcast: Full Show | 13 September

A sheep and beef farmer living near Lawrence, Otago, says forestry companies are doing too little to control the pigs and deer that damage farms neighbouring forestry blocks.

Jim Crawford said about 15km his farm fenceline borders forestry blocks owned by Wenita, Ernslaw, Rayonier and Port Blakely. 

Pigs living in forestry blocks adjacent to his land destroy as much as half a hectare of pasture per week, he said.

He has to be very selective where he plants swedes, as large deer herds destroy swedes.

Federated Farmers said in Farmers Weekly last week that goats, pigs, deer and other wild animals cost farmers about $213 million a year. 

Crawford said during a meeting organised by Lawrence police between farmers and forestry companies that it became clear that some forestry companies do not accept responsibility for managing their boundaries.

He posted about the topic on Facebook. By September 10 the post had received 107 likes, had 29 comments and was shared 137 times. 

At the Lawrence meeting landowners said trees in forestry blocks were planted too close to boundary fences, and that firebreaks were overgrown with gorse and broom with no real management.

Crawford said he knew of two incidents where hunters who pursued pigs from their property onto forestry blocks were trespassed.

It isn’t neighbourly to trespass a neighbour when you know their paddocks were “ripped up”, he said.

Forestry owners cited health and safety issues to keep hunters off their land, he said.

Crawford said forestry blocks often change ownership and some owners inherit a pest problem, but companies seem unwilling to offer solutions. 

“I think they’ve got to put a lot more groundwork in. It’s too big an issue to expect recreational hunters to get on top of.”

He was particularly frustrated with Rayonier and Wenita, saying Wenita contacted him only after he posted about his frustrations on Facebook.

He confirmed that Port Blakely contacted him directly after the meeting and undertook to drive his boundary fence to assess the situation.

Regional manager for Rayonier Matariki Forests Hamish Fitzgerald said they take relationships with the farming community and neighbours very seriously.  

“We are actively working with stakeholders in the local Lawrence community to review and collaboratively resolve any concerns,”  Fitzgerald said .

He did not answer questions from Farmer’s Weekly about what actions Rayonier takes to control pest populations or how it manages boundaries with farms.

South Island regional manager for Port Blakely Barry Wells said the weren’t aware of the scale of the problem until the recent meeting in Lawrence 

“The frustration from the local farming community is understandable. For animals such as pigs which are highly mobile, there may need to be a co-ordinated pest control effort between landowners to get on top of the problem, as opposed to just pushing it somewhere else,” Wells said.

Since the Lawrence meeting Port Blakely has been working with a hunting club to provide preferential access to Lawrence forest blocks with a view to knocking pig and deer numbers back. 

Wells said they will work with neighbouring landowners to control pests on their properties. 

“There are various options available, such as contract hunters, night/thermal shooting, poisoning and helicopter shooting, but not all may work or be suitable for each situation.” 

Over the coming weeks he will be visiting neighbours who contacted him, to address pest and fencing issues. He urged landowners to contact him.

Wells said a memorandum of understanding between Federated Farmers, the Forest Owners Association and the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association addressed many of the issues.

The MoU addresses responsibilities under the Fencing Act, and addresses setbacks and pest control and expectations for both farmers and forestry companies.

The MoU is not legally binding. 

Wells said many cases require a tailored plan. 

“Some issues we are dealing with are legacy issues, such as trees originally planted too close to boundaries. As the current landowners, we take responsibility for these historic issues.”

Wenita and Ernslaw have not responded to questions from Farmers Weekly.

In Focus Podcast | A new strategy for advocacy

AGMARDT and KPMG have released a report that offers a new way of organising our advocacy networks. Common Ground assesses the positives and negatives of the advocacy groups we have now and sets out a strategy that could improve the collaboration and messaging emanating from the farming world. AGMARDT general manager Lee-Ann Marsh joins Bryan to discuss the report.

Zespri and shipping partner ANL/CMA CGM have launched a feasibility study into a possible low-emissions shipping corridor between Tauranga and Zeebrugge in Belgium, via the Panama Canal.

Zespri executive officer for sustainability Rachel Depree said low-emissions shipping is a critical part of carbon reduction for exporters.

A low-emissions shipping corridor is defined as “a route between two or more ports where zero-emission shipping solutions are demonstrated and reported”.

“Collectively we are already facing rising costs as carbon is priced into the economy and our markets and customers are starting to demand targets and plans to lower emissions over time,” Depree said.

“Shipping plays a critical part in New Zealand’s export-driven economy, carrying 99% of the country’s trade by volume and around 80% by value.”

Depree said while kiwifruit is a low-carbon product, shipping emissions make up a larger portion of the product’s overall carbon footprint at 43%.

“Zespri can’t directly reduce shipping emissions ourselves so we’re working with our shipping and distribution partners to improve efficiency and find opportunities to pilot low-emissions fuels solutions as we work towards our ambition of being carbon positive by 2035.

 “This includes continuing to advocate for new port infrastructure and supporting the introduction of more low-emissions shipping vessels, fuels and technology”.

A report on the feasibility of such a corridor by EY for the feasibility study showed New Zealand trails other countries in climate and transport policy and investment for low-emissions shipping.

The report says European ports made large investments to accept alternative-fuel ships, which are larger than conventional vessels, with some already running on 100% renewable energy.

Collaboration with other New Zealand exporters is critical to show demand, reduce cost and speed up investment. 

Governments have an important part to play, with new policies and regulations needed to transition fuels and infrastructure.

The outlook for alternative fuels is complex, with no clear preferred low-emissions fuel, which means an adaptive and multi-fuel approach is needed.

Emissions intensity of alternative fuels is dependent on how these are manufactured.

Biofuel can provide a useful lower-emissions bridge as it can be “dropped in” to conventional vessels often with little or no modifications.

Alternative fuels are expected to price-match fossil fuels by 2040 onwards, due to reducing renewable electricity cost, the removal of subsidies on fossil fuel and carbon taxes.

First movers are needed to understand commercial production and economies of scale, the report says.

Campaign for Wool NZ’s chair Ryan Cosgrove has used machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, to identify what strong wool attributes are key to maximising returns.

Cosgrove, who is also the head of sourcing and materials for Mons Royale, and co-founder of Fusca, a wool sales data platform, recently published a paper outlining his methods and findings.

The paper, A Statistical Analysis of New Zealand Strong Wool Sold at Auction Between 2022 and 2024, showed that colour, micron and length are critical factors affecting wool prices. 

Colour was, however, shown to be the most deterministic feature of price by far, accounting for 48% of price variability, regardless of other external economic factors. 

For the paper, data from January 1^st 2022 to June 30^th 2024 was analysed. 

The periods are significant and affect what attribute of strong wool is the most important, he said.

When Cosgrove moved the lens to 2013-2015, micron was the biggest driver of value.

“I chose the most recent years because it’s what we’re exposed to now. If you say 48% of the variance in price comes from colour, that’s something a grower can use right now.” 

Cosgrove said as a wool trader he was always frustrated at the lack of sophistication used to analyse data.

“Every week we used pen and paper to value and put a price on wool. We’d invoice by hand. None of the data was analysed. I thought, if only I could find a method to do that, so I turned to machine learning to have a look.”

He used two machine learning methods,  Random Forest  Regression (RFR) and Gradient Boosting Analysis (GBA) to build accurate models predicting wool prices, across short periods of consistent economic conditions. 

He wrote the code for the models himself.

Machine learning can be used to constantly update growers on what aspects are more important to focus on at farm level, he said.

Efforts should be concentrated on achieving consistent colour and optimal micron through genetic selection, improved grazing management, and careful handling practices, he said.

Continued focus on reducing vegetable matter contamination will further enhance wool quality and value, the methods showed. 

“The findings allow farmers to make more informed choices about farm management practices and to focus production and handling where it matters most.”

The GBA model was able to create a model where 91% of the variability of the wool price could be explained.

“Analysis aims to uncover how controllable variables, such as wool colour, length, vegetable matter, and micron, as well as uncontrollable variables like month and the NZD:USD exchange rate impact the market price of wool and to use these insights to optimise practices both on the farm and during wool preparation.”

While most brands looked at wool through the lens of increasing wool value or offering a new product and changing demand to try to improve the value for farmers, the machine learning methods are ignorant of economic factors and market demand.

But they use data to “tell growers, here are things you can do to make sure you’re at the top end of the bell curve, that you’re always maximising the value regardless of the market. Instead of just hoping the market is good next year. 

“The research provides a powerful new tool to analyse wool markets. By understanding and leveraging these predictive models, markets may be stabilised, quality improved and profitability boosted across the industry.”

In future Cosgrove aims to include other variables, such as environmental conditions and market trends, to improve the predictive capability of the models. 

Crops were grown successfully across 34 sites that suffered serious silt incursion during Cyclone Gabrielle, a study shows.

Hawke’s Bay researcher Alan Kale, who worked with colleague Diana Mathers, said the study was aimed at growers to support their recovery and that of the land impacted by silt.

“We found that land covered by sludgy clay-based silt could grow good vegetable and arable crops in the next season, with minimal additional effort. 

“However, the story was considerably different for land covered by sandy silt. Crops grown on this land did not thrive,” Kale said.

The study looked at the recovery of silt-covered land at 34 different sites in Hawke’s Bay and Wairoa. 

The study was managed by the Foundation for Arable Research with funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries, North Island Weather Event Fund and Vegetable Research and Innovation. 

Kale said initial conclusions from the study showed cropping on silted sites in the Heretaunga Plains was very successful.

No extra pest and disease inputs were required. 

Some fields had an extra side dress applied, otherwise fertiliser practice was as normal.

Most sites grew and produced crops at or above normal pre-cyclone levels, and current season non-silt crops.

Generally, growers were comfortable to return to normal cropping cycles on these sites.

The exception was the sandy silt type sites, where at one site the sandy silt layer severely impacted maize plants growth and yield by preventing roots reaching the soil below.

Kale said some extra remedial cultivation was required to deal with silt.

“Once you can, stir the silt up to help with the drying process.

“The silt holds onto moisture. Be prepared to wait longer between cultivation passes.

“Post harvest, growers still report needing a longer gap between cultivation passes.

“Extra ripping was often reported as the flooding created a tighter profile.”

The study covered sites where arable, seed, market gardener, processing and cucurbit crops were grown.

“The whole idea of the study was to create a body of knowledge that could be used immediately, as well as in future similar flooding events. We believe we have achieved this outcome.”

In Focus Podcast | New tech to map farms and aid decision-making

Silver Fern Farms has partnered with Wellington-based Lynker Analytics to form a new company, Prism Earth, to help farmers better understand and capitalise on their natural vegetation and biodiversity.

Managing director of Prism Earth, Matt Lythe, tells Bryan the company will help primary producers face up to critical challenges such as developing diversified revenue streams, adjusting to changing climatic conditions, meeting emissions targets and responding to changing buyer behaviour.

Thriving Southland has published a discussion paper exploring the future of precision fermentation in New Zealand.

Thriving Southland is a community-led group that brings communities and farmer-led catchment groups together.

The discussion paper, Understanding Precision Fermentation, was developed in response to growing interest from the Southland farming community.

“We’ve heard from farmers and stakeholders who want to know more about precision fermentation,” said project lead at Thriving Southland Richard Kyte.

“Precision fermentation is a technology that could significantly impact New Zealand’s food production, particularly in the dairy sector. The discussion paper provides an accessible introduction to the technology, presents a range of stakeholder views, and directs readers to further detailed studies.” 

The paper emphasises that while the future impacts of precision fermentation remain uncertain, the time to start thinking about potential disruptions and opportunities is now. 

Anna Crosbie, the paper’s author, said that the dairy sector “is a cornerstone of Southland’s economy, contributing significantly to employment and regional output. With precision fermentation being widely regarded as the alternative protein technology most likely to impact New Zealand first, we wanted to help farmers access recent research and better understand how precision fermentation might impact us in the future.” 

The paper says the dairy sector is an important land use in Southland, covering over 220,000 hectares, and a key contributor to the regional economy, with one in five jobs in Southland in the sector.

Southland produces approximately 12% of New Zealand’s dairy output – approximately 265 million kilograms of milk solids per year – and is home to over half a million dairy cows, spread across more than 980 herds.

In Focus Podcast | New tech to map farms and aid decision-making

Silver Fern Farms has partnered with Wellington-based Lynker Analytics to form a new company, Prism Earth, to help farmers better understand and capitalise on their natural vegetation and biodiversity.

Managing director of Prism Earth, Matt Lythe, tells Bryan the company will help primary producers face up to critical challenges such as developing diversified revenue streams, adjusting to changing climatic conditions, meeting emissions targets and responding to changing buyer behaviour.