It has taken about 144 years since the introduction of powdery mildew to New Zealand for the sexual stage to arrive. Now growers have a tougher battle on their hands.

2014 HAS seen a high-demand start to my professional year with many sizeable assignments starting for new and existing clients. This reflects a combination of a buoyant dairy economy and more willingness by top operators to make themselves accountable to best practice by putting key aspects of their businesses under the spotlight.

THE HOUND hears that a ‘rural’ submitter to a recent Environment Court hearing accidently let his strong feelings be known about a fellow submitter. 

THE HOUND hears that MPI is in full cry recruiting staff for one of its myriad departments in Wellington.

MANY OF the businesses I work with are currently focused on selecting staff for the coming season. As I mentor them through this process, my constant challenge to them is to go beyond ‘face value’ when evaluating prospective appointees. 

HOW LEVEL are your cows’ claws?

MUCH OF my work in recent months has been on strategic reviews. These assignments involve business health checks to benchmark performance against best practice for key areas such as feed strategies, people management, budgeting and reporting. They take me into privileged territory as I compare the standards being achieved by farming operations against what I know is possible. The benefit is a business plan that is clear about new opportunity and identifies factors that risk holding the business back.

MAF says the Emissions Trading Scheme, and a generally positive outlook for wood and fibre demand, is behind a 27% increase in exotic forest plantings in the year to April 2011.