®
CONTENTS
• The Challenge – dealing with falling
prices & rising costs
• A Case Study – Doing it smarter
• Iodine deficiency – revisiting an old
problem
• Case Study – How do we measure
rising costs?
• Growing better Brassica crops
The challenge
No-one needs reminding of the falling prices and
the rising costs depicted in the graph courtesy of
Rabobank.
New Zealand Farm Expenses Index, 1992 - 2006
2300
2100
Index: 1992 = 1000
1900
1700
1500
1300
1100
900
700
500
1992
1993
1994
1995
Fertiliser, lime, seeds
Wages
All inputs excl. livestock
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Feed, Grazing
Fuel
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Government Rates & Fees
Electricity
It is another reminder that business in general
really needs a 4% annual increase in productivity
just to stay still. There is not much we can do
about prices for outputs and inputs but there has to
be potential in getting smarter.
How close are Olsen P levels to optimum in your
farming business?
How many vehicles do we really need?
© Copyright. AgriNetworks Ltd.
Is it better to consider how much is paid as wages
or what return we get from the wages? In a
business with a $500K gross income paying an
excellent person an extra $10K is only 2%. What
does that lesser, but cheaper person add to the
business?
Case study – doing it smarter
The table summarises the two tooth mating
performance in a flock in the Wairoa region. In
2002 the first crop of two tooths bred from Kelso
rams scanned really well suggesting the
“problem” had been solved. But the performance
over the next 3 years dropped back despite the
new genetics.
2T flock
Ewes mated
Mating wt
Ram Removal wt
% Scanning
Scanning Index
% dry ewes
2002
569
61
nd
161
2.64
3.9
2003
951
59
56
141
2.39
6.2
2004
880
57
59
142
2.48
7.2
2005
846
62
62
145
2.35
9.0
2006
877
65
66
173
2.66
2.2
Ewe replacement performance, weight loss during
mating, Barbers Pole and facial eczema all have
been key limiting factors over the past few years.
In 2006 the focus was on getting the two tooths up
to target at mating and during mating. Pasture
spore counts were used for the first time and a
much tighter Barbers Pole management policy is
in place. Pasture spore counts ranged from 40,000
to 70,000 during the month before mating started
when the two tooths were treated with a zinc
capsule.
The record two tooth scanning in 2006 resulted in
a record 142% lambing (18% wastage) compared
to 128% in the MA ewes.
The extra risk management cost around $2,600 to
provide a return of $11,700. Is that smarter or
not?
1
!
#
"
"
"
$
%
&
'
%
"'
levels as well. Low selenium levels can increase
the risk of iodine deficiency.
(
$
'
"%%
) '
!
There are some large gaps in our understanding
of how to use and interpret the urinary iodine
test.
!
%
(
%
* '
%
%
%
#
+
%
Iodine deficiency
Iodine is having another turn at being the trendy
trace element. There are some doubts that
Flexidine is doing the job we expect it to and we
can now test iodine levels in urine.
The urine iodine test is an indication of the daily
intake. The reference ranges for urinary iodine
levels have been based on trials in Italy where the
ewes were grazing extremely iodine deficient
pastures.
Iodine deficiency in the pregnant ewe impairs the
development of the foetus from early pregnancy.
There is evidence that early deficiency can reduce
pregnancy rate and proportion of multiples due to
early embryonic death – more dry ewes at
scanning. Ewes affected later in pregnancy will
show no outward signs but lambs may be born
dead or weak.
Adult sheep store about 80% of their iodine in the
thyroid gland so they have reasonable reserves
that may last several months. BUT foetal
development depends on the daily iodine intake of
the ewe, not her reserves. Hence, a seasonal
deficiency lasting 2-3 months may result in
problems for the foetal lambs but have little effect
on the ewe.
Most cases of iodine deficiency in NZ are due to
the ingestion of goitrogens which block the uptake
of iodine by the thyroid gland. Brassica crops are
high risk but we are finding plenty of cases
pasture fed ewes. Clover can have high goitrogen
© Copyright. AgriNetworks Ltd.
Iodine supplements (eg. potassium iodide, LSD,
Flexidine) work because the iodine crosses the
placenta even if the ewes are eating a goitrogenic
diet. But there has to be enough to work!
There are some spurious iodine supplements out
there which have nowhere near enough iodine in
them!
Here’s a typical example:
50% of the lambs examined showed a thyroid/birth
weight ratio >0.4 despite ewes being treated with
Tracemol + Booster iodine pack at pre-mating and prelamb. The average ratio in the lambs showing cold
exposure was 0.41 compared to 0.31 for the lambs not
showing exposure.
According to the label, Tracemol contains 0.15g/L
potassium iodide which is 0.15mg/mL. The Booster
pack contains 21g potassium iodide which becomes
21g per 20 L when mixed up – ie 1.05mg/mL. That
should mean there is 1.2mg/mL in the final brew and
the 10mL ewe dose provides 12mg of potassium
iodide compared to the recommended dose of 280300mg.
So if you are persuaded to use this stuff, lift your dose
to about 233mL per ewe, but be very careful you don’t
kill the ewes with an overdose of whatever else is in it!
Our recommendations:
o Testing ewes before mating is unlikely to
predict iodine intake by the ewe later in
pregnancy.
o Testing ewes at tailing is unlikely to tell us
much about the ewe’s daily intake during
pregnancy.
o If using an oral potassium iodide product
make sure ewes get 280-300mg at mating and
3 times about 3 weeks apart from scanning to
set stocking.
o If using Flexidine, follow the label
instructions:
2
o Treat ewes close to mating each
year
o 1½mL injected deep into the
muscle – ½ inch vaccinating
needles may not be good enough
We can’t comment on the effectiveness of
Flexidine as we don’t have enough information.
But watch this space!
There is more information about iodine in the
Forum.
Case study – how do we measure
rising costs?
Farm financials for 2000/2001 and 2003/2004
show FWE increased from $93,135 to $134,300
(44%).
But breaking down those expenses on a per output
basis shows a different perspective.
00/01
03/04
FWE/SU
FWE/lamb
tailed
$25
$36
$49.83
$49.88
FWE/kg
lamb
weaned
$1.89
$1.76
On this property the costs have been “managed”
by focussing on productivity. The ewe flock
performance lifted by 13kg lamb per ewe mated
and stock units lifted by 2%.
Growing better brassica crops
There are two ways of reducing the “costs”
associated with putting in crops. Let’s say the
“normal” cost is $500/ha.
1. Reduce cost $450 to produce 6,000kgDM/ha
so the cost of feed produced is 7.5
cents/kgDM.
2. Increase costs to $550 to produce
8,000kgDM/ha so the cost of feed is 6.9
cents/kgDM.
But there may be another “cost” associated with
the performance of the target animals. Summer
crops are generally aimed at growing young
© Copyright. AgriNetworks Ltd.
animals whereas winter crops are generally a
maintenance feed.
Two papers were presented at the 2006 Grasslands
Conference help to define some of the issues.
Fertiliser requirements
An 18t/ha kale crop takes up about 450kg K/ha,
360kg N/ha, 100kg S/ha and 50kg P/ha so
fertiliser management is an important aspect of
growing high producing crops.
1. Don’t use a recipe approach for brassica
crops!
2. Treated seed is OK.
3. Sow at the correct depth
4. For more information about the models
contact your local Ballance rep.
Yield response to fertiliser varies because the
crops respond to nutrients from both soil and
fertiliser. Soil fertility differs between paddocks
so every crop has a different fertiliser requirement
– the recipe approach is no good!
The paper presents the results of trials that
measured yield responses of winter kale and
summer Pasja to nutrient availability in 22 trials
under different situations. The results were built
into a model that forecast the fertiliser
requirements to get the best economic return on
fertiliser.
Key findings include:
o Final yield depended on sowing date – lower
yields from later sowings.
o Yield not affected by plant population.
o Maximum yields were 20tDM/ha for kale and
8t DM/ha for a 60-day Pasja growth cycle.
o Yield responses to fertiliser were different in
every trial.
This project was funded by Ballance AgriNutrients, PGG Wrightson and FRST.
3
o
o
o
o
o
o
Most crops produced below full potential due
to fertiliser, inadequate crop establishment and
water availability were the main reasons.
Main yield responses were to N and P
availability. There was seldom any response
to K because soils had a high capacity to
supply K.
There were no cases where yield responded to
S application even when soil S levels were
low.
Kale and Pasja have high demands for N but
are inefficient at taking it up from soil. Both
utilise N applied down the spout better than
broadcast.
Kale utilises fertiliser P more efficiently than
Pasja whether down the spout or broadcast. It
was thought the difference between kale and
Pasja to scavenge soil and fertiliser P was
associated with their root systems.
Kale response to P was higher than for Pasja
as kale has a high requirement for K.
The yields simulated by the kale and Pasja models
were very closely associated to the actual yields
(R2 = 0.64 and 0.65 respectively).
factor for optimal seed emergence in brassica
crops.
Fig 1. Seed emergence of Barkant turnip at
different sowing depths
0 mm
10mm
25mm
50mm
60
50
40
Ave plant
30
numbers/sq m
20
10
0
7
9
12
15
Days after sow ing
24
Better seed emergence helps to get more
consistent results. Different plant populations can
change the leaf-to-stem ratios which may have a
significant effect on feed quality.
Seed treatment
It seems the effect of seed treatments is often
blamed for poor seed emergence, especially under
dry conditions.
This trial compared the emergence rate of turnip
seed treated with Superstrike®, Ultrastrike™,
Gaucho® 600FS at 24ml/kg and 12ml/kg with
untreated seed. Seed was sown at 10mm. Each
trial was managed to minimise the risk of pest
attack.
Apart from some slight differences in the first
week of emergence, there was no difference in
total number of seedlings
#
$
$
! !" " !
! !" "
$
%$&
$
%$&
'
(
'
Sowing depth
The results are summarised in the graph and
demonstrate that sowing depth is an important
© Copyright. AgriNetworks Ltd.
4