Silage cover reduces wastage
Waikato farmer Dave Muggeridge was fed up with water seeping in through his maize silage cover and spoiling feed.
Crop packaging company Agpac says its use of coloured silage and hay bales to raise awareness of breast cancer in rural communities is catching on in other countries.
The bales (pink for silage, pink and black for hay) are intended to get people talking about women’s health, especially breast cancer prevention.
Agpac general manager Chris Dawson says his company worked with its overseas suppliers to develop the packaging.
The company donates a percentage of sales of the pink products to Sweet Louise, which supports Kiwi women with secondary breast cancer, and their families.
“The limited supply of the pink silage wrap and pink and black netwrap we had this
year sold well,” Dawson says. “Farmers, contractors and rural newspapers have picked up the story. [It’s] been very gratifying. Thanks to this positive response we will expand the programme next year.”
Agpac asked contractors buying the pink wrap to supply it to farms near major roads so the pink bales would stand out.
Te Awamutu contractor Maurice Forkert says the pink was popular with his dairy farmer clients and especially their wives. “It was all sold by word of mouth. One farmer wasn’t so keen at first, but his daughter insisted and he came around.”
Sweet Louise, a charitable trust, offers counselling and emotional support, haircuts, wigs and hats, and helpers who do chores around the home.
Chief executive Fiona Hatton says she is thrilled at Agpac’s help, especially in regions otherwise hard to reach.
An Israeli company Tama Plastic Industry, supplied the pink and black striped netwrap, and Swedish company Trioplast supplied the pink bale wrap.
“Agpac’s Australian parent company Tapex has picked up the idea and is promoting breast cancer awareness in rural communities there,” Dawson says. “Tama is rolling out its pink and black netwrap in Europe and Israel.”
The company says it intends to add a blue bale wrap to raise awareness of men’s health and prostate cancer in support of Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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