{"id":14857,"date":"2015-07-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/going-over-old-ground\/"},"modified":"2015-07-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T12:00:00","slug":"going-over-old-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/going-over-old-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"Going over old ground"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\u201cThe underlying message is that any increase in pasture renewal rates is good for your business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because all farms are different there is no one-size-fits-all solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want farmers to get too hung up on the 10% figure but we believe that 10% or greater is where it needs to be to significantly lift productivity on farms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever way farmers look at it pasture renewal pays, Wood says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the best paddock on your farm is likely to be producing double what your worst paddock is then renewing pasture has got to pay. Research says that new pastures that are established properly will yield 20-100% more compared to previous pastures,\u201d Wood says.<\/p>\n

A consultant\u2019s view<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Total Ag agribusiness consultant Rob Macnab says providing people get pasture renewal right it generally pays off and gives a good return on investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one of my cases this morning there\u2019s a 52% increase in production and potential profit from changing a low-performing producing grass. It was doing 6.5 tonnes per hectare, now it\u2019s doing 9.5t\/ha and that\u2019s a 52% return on investment,\u201d Macnab says.<\/p>\n

The investment might not always be solely in grass \u2013 it could be in fertility, subdivision and sometimes water as well. But the key driver was changing the grass.<\/p>\n

According to a 2009 BERL New Zealand sheep and beef farmers only renew 2-3% of pasture annually.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lending a hand<\/span><\/h2>\n

ANZ developed its Pasture Productivity Loan when it realised top performing farmers viewed pasture renewal as a key place to invest in their businesses to grow productivity and profitability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that we can make available at a low interest rate, around the cost of funds, over five years. It\u2019s around 4.75% at the moment,\u201d ANZ\u2019s Ross Verry says.<\/p>\n

Launched in about July last year Verry says the uptake has been strong \u2013 in the hundreds \u2013 which is positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we really want to see from our customers is a forecast of what type of return the investment will produce. We need to see that people have done the analysis and presented a forecast of what they expect to achieve over the five years. If that stacks up we will make the loan available.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have seen it as an offering to the red meat sector and have moved their banking relationships across because they have recognised the value in the facility and the need for ongoing investment in their farming business,\u201d Verry says.<\/p>\n

ANZ recently expanded the loan scope and it is now called the Pasture and Performance Loan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt now covers growing the pasture and converting it, if people want to couple it with genetics or conversion-type investments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really keen to work with the sector behind the farmgate. It\u2019s not just the dollars per lamb that distinguish the top performers, it\u2019s the kilograms of meat and fibre they produce per hectare. There\u2019s a lot that farmers can do that\u2019s absolutely within their control to improve profitability and we\u2019re really keen to support that sort of stuff,\u201d Verry says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust (PRCT) has launched a new campaign aimed at encouraging farmers to renew 10% of pasture annually.\u00a0PRCT project manager Tim Wood says the 10% target is a national average across sheep and beef and dairy farms.\n\u201cThe 2009 BERL report came up with sheep and beef farmers renewing only 2-3% and dairy farmers 6-7% annually.\u00a0\n\u201cThat report contained some analysis based on getting sheep and beef farmers up to 8% and dairy farmers to 12%. So the trust has pitched our national aspiration at 10%,\u201d Wood says.\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":14858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t