Zealand Agriculture Research Articles

The law of one price: a test based on prices for selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture

The law of one price (LOOP) is an essential foundation of both the pure theory of trade and monetary theory. Strictly speaking, the law relates to prices of individual commodities. However, empirical tests of LOOP have often relied on aggregated data. In this paper, a model is derived and estimated using price data for 15 selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture. The results offer no support for the LOOP in the short run, and the results for the long run are mixed. It may be inappropriate, therefore, to assume that the LOOP holds generally in modelling exercises, particularly when models are used for policy purposes.

AGRICULTURAL REFORMS IN CHILE AND NEW ZEALAND: A REVIEW*

Chile and New Zealand are both small countries for which agricultural exports are important: both undertook comprehensive economic reforms during the 1970s and 1980s respectively. Comparison of the experiences shows that macroeconomic policy, above all the resulting movements in the real exchange rate and in interest rates, has a critical impact on agriculture. In both cases, rolling back the state has encouraged private responses. In Chile the challenges ahead lie in continuing productivity improvements, and in raising the welfare of smallholders in marginal areas. Six years after the initiation of reforms, New Zealand agriculture shows a healthy recovery. Once committed to economy‐wide reforms – stabilisation, adjustment, and trade liberalisation – and companion reforms of institutions, how do governments best proceed? With what reforms and in what mix, sequence, strength, and speed? For agriculture, specifically, this paper takes a close look at which reforms, or aspects of their implementation, can accelerate or slow down private investment and aggregate supply response.

Respectable Lives: Social Standing in Rural New Zealand.

Where do we get our notions of social hierarchy and personal worth? What underlies our beliefs about the goals worth aiming for, the persons we hope to become? Elvin Hatch addresses these questions in his ethnography of a small New Zealand farming community, articulating the cultural system beneath the social hierarchy. Hatch describes a cultural theory of social hierarchy that defines not only the local system of social rank, but personhood as well. Because people define respectability differently, a crucial part of Hatch's approach is to examine how these differences are worked out over time. The concept of occupation is central to Hatch's analysis, since the work that people do provides the skeletal framework of the hierarchical order. He focuses in particular on sheep farming and compares his New Zealand community with one in California. Wealth and respectability are defined differently in the two places, with the result that California landholders perceive a social hierarchy different from the New Zealanders'. Thus the distinctive 'shape' that characterizes the hierarchy among these New Zealand landholders and their conceptions of self reflect the distinctive cultural theory by which they live.

Neosporaabortion epidemic in a dairy herd

Abstract Neospora caninrm is a protozoan closely related to Toxoplasma gonclii. It was discovered only a few years ago, but it is now recognised as one of the most common and important causes of abortion in cattle. Brain lesions characteristic of Neospora infection have been found in about 25% of aborted foetuses submitted to diagnostic laboratories in New Zealand and overseas(1)(2). Average abortion rates due to Neospora on New Zealand farms have been estimated at 7% of pregnancies compared with 4% due to other causes(1). The upper range of abortion rates for Neospora was 17–30% compared to only 7–10% for other causes, showing that the economic effects of Neospora abortions on the more severely affected farms can be devastating.

Goals and management styles of New Zealand farmers

Many commentators on contemporary agriculture emphasize the importance of sound business decision making on the farm. We argue that while this may be appropriate, it is important not to overlook the personal goals of the farmers in any assessment of farm management. Since farmers combine both business and way of life goals in complex and personal ways, we find that the concept of management style is best suited to developing an integrated account of different approaches to farm management. Ranking of goal statements along with interview transcripts provided data that allow for a detailed account of three distinctive management styles in a non-random sample of farmers in Canterbury, New Zealand. The three management styles identified in this investigation are the dedicated producer, the flexible strategist and the environmentalist. The results show the variable response of farmers to their particular social, economic and ecological context and extend out knowledge of management style by showing how goals are integrated in subtle and complex ways.

Helminth parasites of economic importance in cattle in New Zealand

Abstract New Zealand farmers are currently spending about $27.9 million/yr on anthelmintics to control helminth parasites in cattle. Productivity trials carried out over the last 30 years show that the benefit‐cost ratio of an effective drench programme is likely to be high, particularly in young animals in their first year, which tend to be very susceptible to infection. In New Zealand, cattle have been recorded as the definitive host of at least 27 nematode species, two trematode species, and one (possibly two) cestode species. Of these, three gastrointestinal nematode species/species complexes, Ostertagia ostertagi/O. lyrata, Trichostrongylus axei, and Cooperia oncophora/C. surnabada are generally considered to be of greatest and most widespread economic importance. In New Zealand, as overseas, bovine ostertagiosis occurs in two clinical forms, referred to as Type I and Type II. Type I ostertagiosis is the normal form of the disease seen in weaner cattle, while Type II ostertagiosis results from the ra...

Towards sustainable management of natural ecosystems on farms? a New Zealand perspective

Abstract Many New Zealand farms still have large remnant indigenous forest patches. This paper discusses constraints and opportunities for the sustainable management of these remnants. First, the paper analyses why the specific ecological situation of the New Zealand vegetation poses severe constraints for sustainable management. Second, results from a case study are presented suggesting that analysis of farmers’ attitudes to remnant ecosystems might provide valuable data for improving existing environmental legislation. Finally, the possible management implications of the new Resource Management Act 1991 and Forest Amendment Act 1993 are discussed. It is argued that these Acts may bring to an end a thousand years of wilful and accidental destruction of New Zealand's natural environment.

Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) Beauv. - a review, and evaluation of tall oat grass for dryland and hawkweed-affected country in the South Island

Tall oat grass has a long history in New Zealand agriculture. Reference was made to it in the 1880s as a useful grass and it was included in many trials such as those of Macpherson, Cockayne, Calder, Dunbar, Sievwright, Moore and others. While the survival and performance of tall oat grass was generally reported as being good, observations on palatability were mixed. The growth pattern was typically noted as being one of early spring growth, rapidly changing to reproductive form thereafter with a consequent decrease in acceptability to stock. In 1988, new accessions of tall oat grass originating from diverse countries were introduced to New Zealand from the US Department of Agriculture. This paper describes the physical characteristics of tall oat grass and field performance at Galloway Station, a site badly affected by hawkweed, and on other farms. This grass appears best suited to moderate-low rainfall areas (400-700 mm p.a.) which are not too exposed or too cold and it shows good potential for survival and spread in the drier soil conditions which result from hawkweed invasion in mid-altitude grassland areas. Two accessions, one from Chile and the other from Switzerland, have been identified which have superior winter performance, rust resistance and are less prone to bolting into a reproductive phase in the spring. These, along with a preliminary selection containing a wider genetic base, are being commercially evaluated at present. Keywords: Arrhenatherum elatius, tall oat grass, hawkweeds, plant selection, vegetation

Herbage intake, liveweight gain, and grazing behaviour of Friesian, Piedmontese × Friesian, and Belgian Blue × Friesian bulls

Abstract The introduction of heavily muscled breeds of cattle has provided New Zealand farmers with a wider breed choice, but no data on the performance of these breeds, relative to the Friesian for bull beef production on pasture are available. Thirty Friesian, Piedmontese × Friesian, and Belgian Blue × Friesian bulls were purchased at 3 months of age and farmed to slaughter at 18–20 months of age. Herbage intake was recorded over 18 days when the heaviest group of bulls was 15 months old. Herbage intake (kg DOMI/head per day) was similar for the three breeds under continuous stocking on a ryegrass-white clover sward maintained at a sward surface height of 8–10 cm. The Belgian Blue × Friesian bulls had lower biting rates (P < 0.05) and spent more time idling than the other two genotypes. There was no difference in the rate of liveweight gain over the intake measurement period, or in final liveweight between the genotypes. Bulls of the heavily muscled genotypes both had higher rates of carcass and meat ga...

Selection, management and use of cocksfoot cultivars in North Island pastoral farming

Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) is the second most commonly sown grass species after ryegrass in New Zealand farming. In 1980, Grasslands Apanui was replaced by two new but very different cocksfoot cultivars characterised by improved digestibility and rust tolerance, cool-season growth and greater persistence. Grasslands Wana, semiprostrate and densely tillered, was developed for dryland pastures of low soil fertility heavily set stocked by sheep. Grasslands Kara, of low tiller density and open structure, was developed for lowland pastures of higher soil fertility as a companion to other tufted grass species to be rotationally grazed. Despite the different intended uses for the two cultivars, Wana was widely used in all environments. As a consequence, many farmers have been disappointed with the dominance of by Wana, particularly in lowland pastures of medium to high fertility where important companion grasses and clover have been suppressed, leading to poor pasture palatability. This paper describes key cultivar differences and discusses their implications for North Island farming systems, using the results of two on-farm trials to demonstrate cultivar and management effects. Guidelines on sowing rates, cultivar selection and management techniques for avoiding and reversing cocksfoot dominance are provided. Keywords: cool-season production, Dactylis glomerata, dominance, Grasslands Wana, Grasslands Kara, 'target cocksfoot percentage', lowland

Production and interaction of pastures and shelterbelts in the central North Island

Many New Zealand farms contain shelterbelts which have generally been unmanaged, resulting in dubious shelter benefits and poor log values at harvest. The effect of a 6- and 7-row Pinus radiata shelterbelt on adjacent pasture production was monitored at Matea, Taupo during 1992193. Pasture production was measured at a range of distances parallel'to the shelterbelts on both sides and on open pasture. A 15% increase in pasture production was recorded at 0.7 tree height distance on both sides of the shelterbelts. There was also a gradual trend of increasing dry matter production as distance from the shelterbelts increased. However, on average, the sheltered zone produced slightly less dry matter than the open pasture. Increases in soil and herbage nutrient levels close to the shelterbelt suggest nutrient transfer by animals to the sheltered zones may have occurred. Shelterbelt tree growth was assessed and projected forward to maturity. Merchantable log volume at age 28 years was predicted to be 2300 m3/km of shelterbelt. Based on current log prices the 7-row shelterbelt was estimated at age 28 years to have a net value of $130 000/km Keywords: log value, nutrients, pasture production, pasture composition, Pinus radiata, shelter, shelterbelt, wood yields

MRDC Monitor Farms - using information

An industry survey indicated a concern that the results of existing research were not getting across to potential adopters. In response to this situation, the Meat Research and Development Council sponsored a monitor farm programme which operated on 24 farms throughout New Zealand. Key components of the programme were the monitor farmer and farm, community group, and facilitator. Factors judged critical to the success of the programme were the need for local ownership of the programme, development of quality information, and the establishment of a partnership of skills, expertise and experience. Preliminary surveys indicate a high level of farmer endorsement of the programme. Level of involvement by community group members has exceeded that set initially. Further analysis is required to identify the impact of the programme on farm business performance and the application of technology in New Zealand farm businesses.Keywords: community group, information, monitor farm, technology transfer

Phosphate balances in grazed, hill-country pasture: Implications for fertiliser recommendations

Abstract The effect of different rates of phosphate (P) fertiliser (10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 kg P/ha) on various P pools was monitored on four slope groups (0–10°, 11–20°, 21–30°, and 31°+) in a large-scale, hill-country grazing trial. The P pools involved were plant P, faecal P, and soil P (inorganic, organic, nonoccluded, occluded, calcium-bound, and Olsen). Plant availability of the soil P pools was investigated in an exhaustive cropping pot trial. Results from these trials were used to test some of the assumptions and predictions within the Computerised Fertiliser Advisory Scheme (CFAS) used by Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries advisors to make fertiliser recommendations for many New Zealand farmers. Animal losses of P per stock unit were found to be slightly lower than predicted by the CFAS; estimates of soil losses were similar when based on increases in non-available inorganic P. The net effect was a slightly lower P requirement than suggested by the CFAS. Difficulties with making comparisons bet...

Laparoscopic intra-uterine insemination of fallow deer with frozen-thawed or fresh semen after synchronisation with CIDR devices

This study investigated the efficacy of fixed-time laparoscopic intra-uterine insemination of farmed fallow deer (Dama dama) with frozen-thawed or fresh semen. In the trials with frozen-thawed semen, a total of 547 mature non-lactating does across five New Zealand farms were used. For oestrous synchronisation and artificial insemination, a standard control regimen was applied to at least 30% of the does on each farm, involving the insertion of single CIDR type-G devices intravaginally for 14 days, deposition of 50 x 10(6) frozen-thawed spermatozoa at 65 hours after withdrawal of the CIDR device and the continuous presence of vasectomised bucks from the insertion of the CIDR device until 10 days after insemination. Various aspects of this protocol were changed for the remaining does on each farm, including inseminations at 60 or 70 hours, the absence of vasectomised bucks, insemination with 25 x 10(6) or 10 x 10(6) spermatozoa, synchronisation with CIDR type-S devices and synchronisation with prostaglandin. The conception rate, based on rectal ultrasonography at 45 days after insemination, was 67% across all treatments (n=547). Corrected conception rates (+/-s.e.), calculated following between-farm adjustments, were 67+/- 3% for the control regimen, 67+/- 9% and 73 +/- 8% for inseminations at 60 and 70 hours respectively, 61 +/- 9% for absence of bucks, 80 +/- 8% and 74 +/- 9% for inseminations with 25 x 10(6) and 10 x 10(6) spermatozoa respectively, 62 +/- 10% for CIDR type-S device synchronisation, and 49 +/- 10% for prostaglandin synchronisation. Despite apparent differences, none of the treatments resulted in adjusted conception rates that were significantly different from the control regimen (P>0.01). In the trials with fresh semen, 216 does in the USA were inseminated at 69-71 hours after withdrawal of the CIDR device using either cryopreserved semen from New Zealand (n=158; 25 x 10(6) spermatozoa per inseminate) or fresh semen (n=58; 7.5 x10(6) to 20 x 10(6) spermatozoa per inseminate) collected less than 10 hours earlier. The overall conception rates were 77% and 81% respectively, with no significant differences between semen type (frozen v. fresh) or fresh spermatozoa number per inseminate (P>0.01). A further 102 does in New Zealand similarly received fresh semen from 3/4 Mesopotamian buck. Doses of 10 x 10(6) (n=35), 5 x 10(6) (n=32) or 2.5 x 10(6) (n=35) spermatozoa per inseminate were delivered at 69-71 hours after withdrawal of the CIDR device. The conception rates were 77%, 66% and 51% respectively, reflecting a dose effect (P<0.05). However, 1/4 Mesopotamian does in the group (n=19) exhibited higher conception rates (95% overall) irrespective of semen dose, possibly indicating a semen/recipient genotype interaction. It is concluded that laparoscopic intra-uterine insemination of fallow deer with frozen-thawed or fresh semen at fixed intervals after removal of a CIDR device can give acceptable conception rates under a range of on-farm management options and semen doses.

A perspective on our industry - Waitangi Fellowship Report

The management practices in common use in the sheep industries of UK and New Zealand have few similarities, This is the inevitable result of the widely different political. climatic and financial influences the two industries experience. New Zealand products enjoy a favonrableresponse from British consumers. They are considered to be quality items and generally look well in the markets. Our markets are well established and while we would allacknowledgeimpetfections,therearenow more important issues than philosophy and structure. Returns to the producer is the paramount problem in the New Zealand sheep industry. A long term approach to that issue may demand considerable investment in the market place, delaying the flow of the entire amount of increased return back to farmers. The New Zealand farmer is a more innovative and adaptable character than his British counterpart. At least part of this is due to the volumes of regulations and restrictions that plague British farmers. Herein lies an asset that we should exploit to maintain a competitive edge. Keywords New Zealand, sheep industry,United Kingdom

Forage potential of wild populations of perennial ryegrass collected from southern New Zealand farms

A ryegrass breeding programme to improve the cool season activity and summer quality of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L,) in southern regions was initiated in 1986. One of the strategies assessed wild ryegrass populations from 50 dairy and sheep farms in Southland, West Otago and Westland. The plants were collected and evaluated as spaced plants in a high and low fertility site at DSIR Grasslands Gore in comparison with current ryegrass cultivars. Principal Component Analysis was used to order the performance of the ryegrass populations in relation to the observed characters of seasonal growth, tillering, crown rust infection, recurrent ear emergence and endophyte presence. Ihe collection consisted of many short-leaved densely tillered prostrate plants with high levels of crown rust infection and recurrent flowering. In comparison the cultivars had fewer, but larger tillers, rapid leaf extension and good rust tolerance. There were no strong distinguishing features between plants from dairy and sheep farms and 30% of plants had no endophyte. Selected ecotypes hybridised with New Zealand and European cultivars produced plants with better cool season growth and summer quality than standard cultivars. The ecotype germplasm is an important source in the development of new cultivars suited to the southern region. Keywords plant evaluation, Lolium perenne, ryegrass hybrids, southern New Zealand ecotypes

Prevention of trace element deficiencies in grazing ruminants: an evaluation of methods

The prevention of cobalt, copper, selenium and iodine deficiencies is an important feature of stock health programmes on many New Zealand farms. Various methods of prevention involving direct supplementation to animals and topdressing pastures have been evaluated. F%otocols for the amounts administered and frequency of supplementation for Co, Cu, Se and I have been outlined. Keywords: cattle, cobalt, copper, deficiencies, iodine, deficiencies, prevention protocols, selenium, sheep

The Importance of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes to Australian and New Zealand Agriculture.

The most important nematode problems in Australia and New Zealand are reviewed, several potentially serious new nematode problems are discussed and estimates of losses caused by nematodes are provided. Numerous economically important species occur in Australia, but the most damaging nematodes include Meloidogyne spp., which are major pests of a wide range of fruit, vegetable, ornamental, field and pasture crops, the cereal cyst nematode, Heterodera avenae, and Anguina funesta, the vector of annual ryegrass toxicity. Together with a number of less well-known nematodes, they cause losses to Australian agriculture that are estimated at more than $300 million per annum. In New Zealand, Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida on potato and Heterodera trifolii and Meloidogyne hapla on white clover are possibly the most important species. The crisis in nematode control programs caused by the withdrawal of several widely used nematicides is discussed and the need for the development of more sustainable nematode management strategies is recognised. Options such as the use of nematode resistant cultivars and rootstocks, crop rotation, organic amendments and biological control are discussed and research priorities in plant nematology are considered.

New Zealand Agriculture and Changes in the Agriculture—Finance Relation during the 1980s

In the 1980s New Zealand agriculture was reinserted into the global economy by state policy which favoured global capital at the expense of other capital fractions. An important aspect to the latest internationalisation of agriculture are changes in the agriculture—finance relation, specifically the institutional arrangements through which capital is allocated to and appropriated from agriculture and agricultural processing. The developments in the agriculture—finance relation in the 1980s is outlined with a look especially at the state's retreat from lending to agriculture and new possibilities for corporate investment in land-based production. It is argued that the sale of the government agency, the Rural Banking and Finance Corporation (known as the Rural Bank) to New Zealand's largest listed corporation, Fletcher Challenge Ltd (a global corporation with extensive forestry and fishery interests in the Americas) is a development of major historical significance in the New Zealand context. The sale introduces the possibility of unified control over production, realisation, and reproduction spheres in New Zealand's agrocommodity chains. The paper ends with suggestions on the wider significance of the New Zealand development in the current international farm crisis.

The deregulation of New Zealand agriculture : market intervention (1964-84) and free market readjustment (1984-90)

The impacts of deregulation on New Zealand's agricultural sector are examined. Economic liberalization of all sectors of economic activity is the hallmark of current economic policy designs in New Zealand. This is in sharp contrast to previous policies reliant on massive government assistance to and intervention in agriculture. The study provides insights into the cumulative and distortionary extent of previous assistance policies, discusses the rationale in removing public financial assistance, and reviews the readjustment process. As a case study, New Zealand's experience reveals difficulties which may confront farmers in other economies where policy makers seek a return to free market conditions. Economic policy observers ponder the efficacy of making gradual and incremental changes in the policy mix versus a strategy of more sudden abrupt change with little adjustment assistance to those affected. These were the alternatives which confronted the New Zealand government in the mid-1980s when it became evident that social assistance economic policies, for which the country had been well known during the post-World War II period, had both distorted economic sector performances and imposed unacceptably expensive support costs. A revision of the agricultural support policy was underway in 1983 under the then National government, but in 1984 a Labour government