Helping grow
the country

Markets for various classes of dairy livestock will be busy through the rest of winter as farmers look to take advantage of positive prospects for milk production.

Jamie Cunninghame, PGG Wrightson National Dairy Livestock Manager, said this season’s feeder calf sales are proceeding free of the negative influence of M bovis.

“Significant quantities of calves are set to go through the sales in the coming weeks. As risks associated with the disease are now better understood, the uncertainty of the past two years around dairy beef has diminished. Rearers will have plenty of calves to choose from, which is positive as the red meat industry depends on their efforts to keep the beef supply chain operating.

“For anyone rearing feeder calves and uncertain about business risk or feed availability, PGG Wrightson is on hand to negotiate forward contracts linking rearers to farmers, either to finish stock or take them to the next step,” he said.

Meanwhile demand for in-milk and close to profit cows is rising. 

“As availability of stock is short, the market is responding positively when good quality animals come forward. In-milk cow sales are scheduled through the spring. Farmers seeking to increase herds to capitalise on an encouraging dairy payout forecast should talk to their local livestock rep about where and when to buy,” said Jamie Cunninghame.

Looking ahead to next month and running through to October, the bull sale season will feature sales via hybrid bidr® and on-farm, which for many dairy farmers makes it time to apply for a PGG Wrightson Defer-A-Bull purchase agreement to finance a bull team with no upfront cost and no re-payments until the bulls are sold.

Jamie says Defer-A-Bull is a proven winner.

“Some have subscribed to Defer-A-Bull for ten years and longer. It offers an ideal opportunity to secure capital to fund annual bull purchases. Defer-A-Bull enables farmers to invest in a bull team when they need it, without putting pressure on funds at a moment in the season when cashflow can be tight,” he said.

For more information on Defer-A-Bull talk to your local PGG Wrightson representative or visit: pggwrightson.co.nz/deferabull

Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by the severe weather event in the Buller, Tasman, and Marlborough regions. We continue to monitor the situation closely to establish what support our customers and communities need, and how we can assist and respond to any challenges that may emerge.

The full extent of the flooding will not be known until waters recede and assessments undertaken. In the meantime, all our stores remain open, and our staff will be contacting our customers and getting on-farm where practicable and offering support. We have heard of heartening stories of friends, neighbours, and communities pulling together to help each other.

Road and bridge closures have caused disruption to transport routes and damaged roads cause hazards for drivers, so please be cautious when driving. Currently the road closures have not impacted our logistics and supply chain.

‘Helping grow the country’ is our vision and is at the heart of what we do, and this is especially the case at times of challenge and adversity. We are committed to supporting our customers through this challenging period of damage assessment and the recovery phase.

The Rural Support Trust teams are coordinating their response efforts in the rural areas and PGW will continue to liaise and assist where we are able to do so. The Trust is also available to provide support and advice and details can be found at www.rural-support.org.nz.

Further support and information are available through the following links:

• Civil Defence
• Ministry for Primary Industries – flood advice for livestock
• Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency - West Coast
• Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency - Tasman
• Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency - Nelson & Marlborough
• Rural Support Trust

For information and about your on-farm needs please contact your local PGW store directly.

The Country’s Rowena Duncum is joined by PGG Wrightson’s General Manager for Rural Real Estate Peter Newbold to take a look at the rural property market this month.

The 2020-21 rural real estate season has come to an end. Newbold notes that it has been the best year recently, especially with all sectors selling robust and values are up and there has been some promising movement in the dairy sector.

Duncum queries who the most active buyers are this past season. Newbold highlights that usually it is someone from the rural community, but now there are a lot of new entrance buyers in the market which hasn’t been seen for some time. 

Farmers who are looking at putting their properties on the market have been driven by retirement, family succession, the banks are cooperative, and the current positive market place. Newbold adds that if you are looking at selling, then now would be a really good time.

Overseas investment office regulations are still impacting the rural real estate market, particularly with properties over the $13 million mark. 

Duncum queries if issues around labor are influencing property buyers decisions. Newbold notes that there is more to the day-to-day operation of a farm than some people realize.  

Newbold highlights that the rural industry is a wonderful community to be involved with.

“When you don’t have a huge amount of capital Go-Stock works beautifully”

Matt Thomas finishes beef and lambs on 230 hectares in South Wairarapa. He uses Go-Stock to remove the financial pressure from farm decisions:

“We finish around 8000 lambs through Go-Stock and use it for around 250 weaner steers.

We started using Go-Stock about five years ago. All the land we farm is leased, so we don’t have a huge amount of capital to underpin the operation, meaning Go-Stock works beautifully.

“For beef, the bank balance can hold you back from making the farming decisions you need to make. Money going out at a crucial time can make life difficult. Because we didn’t have the operating capital to start with, Go-Stock was a perfect fit. With the price of lambs growing, there was no way we could do the numbers that we wanted to do. 

“Go-Stock can suit any level of farming, not just those starting out. It’s purely a way to take financial pressure out of decision-making. You can fill gaps at certain times of the year. For us, Go-Stock was a no brainer.”

Since 2016 PGG Wrightson’s Go-Stock has put 1.4 million lambs and 220,000 cattle on farms throughout New Zealand.

Operating for sheep, cattle and now deer, Go-Stock eases cashflow on farm: PGG Wrightson buys the stock and retains ownership, meaning no initial cash outlay for farmers. Farmers then graze and grow the stock before deciding, in conjunction with us, when and where PGG Wrightson will sell them. PGG Wrightson pays any resulting positive trading margin to the farmer, less fees and selling costs.

For more information about Go-Stock speak to your PGG Wrightson livestock representative or click below to visit our website.