december 2010 issue 39

Issue 39december 2010

Rodney's

Visit us online at www.rurallifestyle.co.nz

deadly news for possums, stoats and ferrets pg10

A christmas past pg12

Wandering stock: A three-fold increase pg14

silverdale school stays rural pg 3

The Art of Judging pg 6

Ag Days:

2 RURAL LIFESTYLE ISSUE 39

design principles to another well known chook feeder… but that’s another story).

Our camping spot overlooks the beach at the DOC campsite at Puriri Bay, Northland. Aaahhh, bliss! Once we’ve survived this month we’ll be pushing our toes through sand and you’ll be ensconced with the January edition. Merry Christmas to all our readers and have a very happy and safe New Year.

Neville Walker – Editor & Publisher

editorialIt’s called the Silly Season for good reason, as we try and shove a whole month’s work and then some into just 3 weeks. I have to say I’m hanging out for the holidays already.

This month’s madness has included hard disk failure. How to avoid losing your cherished photos of people and events dear to you? Fortunately, I found a small business who specialise in this area of data recovery and are realistic about pricing their recovery services, not holding out for a small ransom as some others do. I feel a story brewing in that department. Chuck me an email if you’ve ever had similar experiences or are in need of data recovery experts who don’t charge like wounded bulls. In the meantime, take it from me, back-up your data!

Our holiday plans are well advanced with our dog Bella dog booked in to stay with friends and with Dipsy, Laa Laa, Tinky Winky and Po (our 5-year-old daughter’s chosen names) aka The Chooks, in training with a Chooketeria. This means we don’t have to worry about sparrows and rats eating their way through a week’s worth of chook food in two days, a very fine idea for this time of year (see advert on P17). We’ll be doing a story on Ron’s invention in the New Year (yes, he did happen to invent the Chooketeria by chance and with a little trial and error, along very similar

Letters or enquiries to Rodney’s Rural Lifestyle, RD Marketing Ltd, RD1, Kaukapakapa. Phone 09 947 3580. Email: [email protected]

Advertising enquiries: Marlene Brown 021-854-946Rodney’s Rural Lifestyle ©2010. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without permission of the publisher is prohibited. No responsibility accepted for any direct or indirect consequences arising from reliance on any content within Rodney’s Rural Lifestyle. Editor: Neville Walker. Sub Editor: Helen Martin. Writers this issue: Lynnette Third, Helen Martin, Carolyn Howden. Image credits: Cover Image: Madeline of The Broch, owned by Julie & Andrew Boyd. Photo kindly supplied by Julie Boyd. P10: “Henry” Possum trap courtesy Dave Hansford. P12: Pohutukawa Jandals courtesy Iconic Designs – for details of stockists www.iconicdesignsltd.co.nz or phone 09 410 5232. P13: Image courtesy www.commons.wikimedia.org/Daniel Schwen/Christmas_lights_2. P14-16: Images courtesy Carolyn Howden. Designer: Dan Stenhouse, Bgraphix. Printing: Alliance Print.

RURAL LIFESTYLE ISSUE 39 3

By Lynnette Third

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Fewer pupils come from rural blocks these days, but the enthusiasm for farming activities is being kept alive.

To involve the older children, Deputy Principal Gareth Jones has developed the Annual Young Farmer Competition. This challenges participants to a range of feats which this year included lifting a hay-bale into a wheelbarrow then manoeuvring the wheelbarrow around obstacles at high speed. A model cow enables pupils to try out their milking skills, with the results of their efforts measured. Matching tools to their function, cutting wood accurately and identifying the plants that grow from

particular seeds were other challenges this year. Heats are run in the weeks prior to show day and all the kids can try their hand before the final. It is a guaranteed entertainer, loads of fun and a great judge of the speed, accuracy and strength needed by all budding farmers.

Though not a lot of calves and lambs were entered this year the competition was serious. I talked with 12 year old Latisha George who scooped the champion lamb prize with “Cookie”. She gave me with her recipe for woolly winners and spoke about her intention to go on to the Helensville A&P show in the New Year.

Despite Silverdale fast becoming a suburb, Silverdale School is steadfastly clinging to its rural heritage as it showcases its annual Country Show Day.

celine, Latisha and mia.

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The “guess the weight of the sheep” competition was a good one to listen in on. Punters lifted a very stoical looking lamb and by comparing its weight to whatever they were familiar with - be it their x-box or surfboard – they made an educated guess.

The school has a strong desire to retain the show as a day to experience a taste of things rural and to prevent this important facet of school life from disappearing into local history books. In many ways it is a nod to the past – the dried pressed flowers presented by one class were beautiful and I was told the children really enjoyed learning this somewhat forgotten art. The rural photo competition called for shots of animals, tractors or anything rustic to be printed and framed with wool, feathers, bark, leaves - anything to give it a bucolic flavour. I confess I was impressed – some were worthy of being in an art gallery.

The kids had also worked on flax-weaving projects, chicken sculptures and the usual garden and sand-saucer creations. The radish-growing contest called for kids to grow their mystery seeds (no chance of doing a sneaky swap there) and present their efforts for the judge to uproot and inspect on show day.

My favourite, referencing the nearby beach culture, were the decorated

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All the other show day fun was there too. Clutching my box of home baking I spent my last gold coin on a stick of candyfloss, convinced my kids there really was no more money for another ride and wandered off home, very content with my day out.

Well done Silverdale School, thanks for treasuring our rural ways!

Time for a break - Geena Van reenen gives Fudge a quick top up between events.

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Duncan McNab is a past President of the Auckland Agriculture and Pastoral Association and his CV includes many years’ experience selecting and judging cattle, including for the Easter Show and the Kumeu show. He’s a regular judge at local school Ag Day/Calf Club competitions, traditional community events where kids, their families, their friends and their teachers showcase their commitment to healthy, well looked after animals.

What’s the value in kids bringing their animals to Ag Day?If you decide to show an animal at Ag Day you have to work towards it, starting with deciding after the 1st of July which animal you’re going to groom up for it. There’s something about being committed to the needs of a baby animal that teaches a child compassion and empathy. They learn about

Ag

DAys

By Helen Martin

Helen Martin talks to Duncan McNab about Ag Day judging.

death too, because their animal can die on them. It helps them learn first-hand about farming and there’s also a lot of discipline involved. Have they put the hours and the work in? You can tell from watching kids showing their animals which ones have taken the job seriously. The whole thing really is about the general health and condition of the animals and how the kids associate with them.

Watching you judging the calves at the Coatesville School Ag Day it looked pretty complicated to me. Tell me about the different categories. Actually it’s not complicated and the kids get involved when they’re really young so they know the ropes. The kids compete in categories according to their age – Junior, Intermediate and Senior. Juniors are aged 5 -7, Intermediates

duncan mcNab judges the calves at the coatesville school Ag day.

The art of Judging

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are 8 -10 and Seniors are 11 -12. The calves compete in two classes, dairy and beef. All the calves compete together in the Handling and Leading and Rearing and Grooming sections for a ribbon for first, second or third. Sometimes they have a fourth place getter too. At the South Kaipara Group Day they also split them into Light Dairy and Heavy Dairy. Then there’s a Champion and Reserve Champion Dairy Calf and a Champion and Reserve Champion Meat Calf. From there a Supreme Champion Calf is chosen.

To the untrained eye it’s a bit of a mystery how you decide the winners. What are the criteria? You judge what you see on the day. The first thing is that I always arrive before it’s time to start the judging and I watch how the kids relate to their animals, see how they’re treating them. That tells me a lot. Then in each judging section there are specific things you’re looking for. You talk to the kids about their animals and you generally find the ones who know the most about them have cared for them well.

In the Handling and Leading section the kids need to be able to control their animals. They lead them around the ring, stop, start off again, walk them around a cone perhaps, then lead them back to the start. What you’re looking for here is a good connection between the kid and their animal. You want to see them controlling the animal quietly and with no fuss.

The Rearing and Grooming section is where the effort and the time taken with the animal really show. It’s about animal health and condition. A healthy calf is robust, vigorous, has a

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good fat layer and bright eyes. A well-groomed calf has a soft coat with no loose skin and no scabs, mites, lice or dandruff. There will be no grass stains or other dirt.

By the time you get to choosing the champion animal there won’t be any obvious flaws so you’re looking for the animal with the best structure, conformation (stature) and freedom of movement. If you have to decide between two very similar animals it can finally come down to a subjective judgement.

What do judges look for in the lambs? The lambs are in wool and meat categories. In the Handling and Leading section they have to do things like walk up a plank and step down and come when their owner calls them. That can be funny to watch – the lambs don’t always co-operate. There can be a lot of lambs in a competition, so it’s a way of separating them.

In the meat section lambs are judged on body composition,

shape, muscle development and low fat component. In the wool section they’re judged on lustre (cleanliness), crimping (fineness), length and bulk. There were goats at the South Kaipara Group Day. Are the criteria the same for them? Pretty much. They also have prizes for ‘high jumping’, where the goats walk up a plank and jump off the end, and for Most Obvious Pet.

How do people respond to the judging? The main things are to try and keep it exciting for the kids and to spend time talking to them, and anyone else watching the judging, about the reasons for your decisions. They need to know how you judge the animals according to the different criteria so they can learn what they’ve done well and what they can do better next time.

In the June 2011 issue of RRL we will talk to Duncan about how to prepare your animals for Ag Day.

Lockwood smith judges the calves at the south Kaipara Group day.


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Amid the furore about poisoning, the search has been on for a new weapon.

Enter the Henry trap, invented by 3 Wellington engineers and developed by Goodnature, a Wellington company which received a $250,00 innovation grant from the government to solve our $100 million pest problem.

Named after early NZ bird conservationist Richard Henry, the Henry trap is exciting and innovative. As soon as the animal puts its head in the trap to check out the long-life bait, a bolt shoots into the back of its head, causing a rapid and humane end. A compressed carbon dioxide gas canister powers the shooting and resetting, with twelve resets possible before servicing is required.

The traps, which come in a range of sizes, are light (only 700 grams) and easy to set, making them ideal for individuals and conservation groups to use.

Testing has been underway for several years to ensure animal welfare guidelines are met and there are no problems with by-catches of native animals.

The government has given the Department of Conservation (D.O.C.) $4 million to evaluate 10,000 of these traps in large-scale projects. Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson hopes that by cutting the annual cost of maintaining a trap from $96 to $14 we could save $800,000 in labour costs annually and D.O.C.’s annual budget of $20 million for pest control could stretch a lot further as a result.

The stoat trap has been trialled near Wellington with very heartening results. As a result, the Henry Rat and Stoat trap has been passed for general sale at $160 plus GST. Next year four large-scale possum trials are being planned, including one in Northland and another in Nelson. Providing the trials progress well, the Henry possum version will be available from February/March next year and will be approximately $110 plus GST.

Overseas interest in the new traps has been keen, so once again Kiwi innovation may help conservation as well as provide export opportunities.

As public outcry against poison drops and inhumane trapping practices gains intensity this news comes as a great relief to … well, everyone except the possums and stoats really!

Traditional methods for trapping pests that destroy our native plants and animals have been useful only on small areas where traps can be checked regularly (daily for live traps) and the animals despatched before the traps are reset.

Ed’s comment: These traps may be expensive options for individual users on smaller properties, the old low-tech Timms trap is still a very practical means for possum control (see back page).For more information see www.doc.govt.nz(home-grown 'kiwi-saver') and www.goodnature.co.nz

Pest Con

trol

By Lynnette Third

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Everything’s ready for Christmas – food organised, presents wrapped, tree resplendent in the corner of the lounge – when youngest son Jake, who’s in America on a student exchange, phones home. “Mum, I’ve been in a car wreck. I’ve fractured my back“.

A day and a half later I arrive in Tallahassee, Florida, clutching a hired cellphone I don’t know how to use and terrified out of my wits. What state will Jake be in?

Jake’s homestay buddy drives us over the state line to his

home in Thomasville, Georgia. Details of the accident are recounted (several teenagers in a jeep at night in a forest) and Jake, the only one injured, shows me the scary looking brace he’s wearing.

After a meeting with the specialist the following day, where we learn Jake missed paraplegia by a whisker and his back will heal in time, we turn our attention to enjoying the novelty of our first non-Kiwi Christmas.

For a start, it’s winter. It’s not ice cold, but there are definitely no thoughts of racing back to Florida for a quick dip and sunbathe. With just a few days to go before Christmas, Josh

By Helen Martin

A tradition in the us since the 60's, covering homes and front yards with christmas lights has finally taken off here too.

©d

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ails

pg

2

A Christmas Past


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and Emily are still at school and their mother Debbie is at work. Then suddenly it’s all on. While gangs of carefree squirrels romp in the back garden, the household morphs into a tornado of activity and, incredibly, in no time the Christmas preparations are done and dusted.

Switching into holiday mode our hosts take us to see the sights, the most memorable being a bayou (with no alligators visible), the Big Oak (c. 1680) in the town, the streets of houses ablaze with Christmas lights and the cotton plantations and their majestic Southern mansions, which are open to the public. The history of slavery in this area is a long and sorry story and its effects are still evident, but in the interests of harmony we abandon our discussions about it. Our take on race issues doesn’t chime with that of our hosts.

Christmas day holds a few surprises. I’m happily making salads the Kiwi way when Debbie instructs me to add honey to one, sugar to the other. At the other end of the bench she’s making marshmallow – for the turkey, I think – and I’m beginning to wonder what’s happened to the roast lamb and mint sauce.

We’re having Christmas dinner at the home of Debbie’s friend. Alan lives alone in a Southern mansion that looks like a set from Gone with the Wind – sweeping driveway and lawns, sweeping internal staircase, room after room of historic treasures. Then there’s the massive solid mahogany table, the crystal glasses, the silver cutlery, the linen napkins – it’s all a bit much for a couple of homespun Kiwis, but the company’s great and we laugh a lot.

A quick trip to Atlanta for New Year’s Eve and then it’s time for normal life to resume. For our hosts, it’s straight back to work and school. For us, it’s back home to what’s left of the Kiwi Christmas – weeks and weeks and weeks of warm summer family holiday bliss.

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STock iSSueSThe lethal combination of hungry animals and poor fencing in the Rodney area have resulted in three times as many call-outs to animal control officers to deal with wandering stock on roads.

Rodney’s animal control officers used to receive about 10 calls a month about wandering stock but in the past three months

An

imA

l Con

trol

they have received up to 30 calls a month,” says former Rodney District Council’s animal control bylaws manager, Wayne Knightbridge.

Although the Council has now been taken over by Auckland City, the animal control division remains as it was, with the same officers and rural bases in Helensville, Huapai, Warkworth and the Orewa/Waitoki area. One officer works full time in the urban area of Whangaparaoa. “The rest cover hundreds of kilometres through small towns and rural property and are spending too much time chasing stock that shouldn’t be on the road,” Mr Knightbridge says. “We have had fatal accidents, for both the motorist and the stock, and severe injuries as a result of vehicles hitting stock, especially horses or cattle. The stock owner is liable for damage and if someone dies because of their stock on the road the owner could be looking at a manslaughter charge.”

Officers are on call 24 hours a day because of the potential for wandering stock to cause a serious accident. Local residents often help the officers round up the stock which is usually put into the nearest available paddock – a solution not so easy now as many farm owners are padlocking their gates to prevent stock rustling.

One or two escapees from a lifestyle block are much harder to round up than 10. One officer got more than she bargained for recently when challenged by the long horns of an escaped Highland cattle-beast. “She just made it to the fence,” Mr Knightbridge says.

Mostly the animals come from lifestyle block owners. The biggest offenders are in the far north and in the west of Rodney, with the same properties often causing concern about their fences and condition of the stock. Sometimes the cause for wandering stock is not enough feed, often it is poor fencing. Repeat offenders will be prosecuted.

Three-fold increase of stock on roads.

By carolyn Howden

Wandering

Animals


Dog iSSueSOfficers are also receiving more complaints than usual about dogs worrying stock.

“We have had some horrific dog attacks. In one instance north of Wellsford 183 sheep were killed in one night by two dogs,” Mr Knightbridge says. A local resident believed to own the dogs moved away that day and police were unable to prove it was his dogs that carried out the attack.

The council is now receiving at least one report a month of dog attacks in the Rodney area. The consequences are usually horrific. Lambs or ewes are killed, distressed stock miscarry and lambs become mis-mothered because of the disturbance. Some stock are chased into water courses and drowned in an attempt to escape the dog attacks, others crowd into a corner and suffocate.

“Lifestyle block owners are subject to the same dog fencing bylaws as urban property owners,” Mr Knightbridge says. Farm fencing is not enough. Dogs must be properly fenced and too often they are not. People often don’t realise what their dogs are up to while they are away at work. ”It can be any breed of dog causing the problem and sometimes it is not the farm dog but the little house dog, a bichon frise or a little terrier, causing the problem.” For farmers sighting dogs worrying stock on their property he has one simple piece of advice – “shoot them”.

While the council keeps a register of troublesome stock and owners, it also maintains a register of all farm dogs. Too many farmers and lifestyle block owners are not registering their dogs. A recent campaign, ‘Knock, Knock, Woof Woof ’, gave the show away for many unregistered dog owners when an officer knocked on the door and was answered with a bark.

Officers cover both the small rural towns and the ‘back blocks’. The problem of stray dogs ripping open rural rubbish bag collections is a hardy annual. Dog bites and dogs rushing

Take me home, pleeeaaasee.


S E A S O N A L C O N T R A C T O R S D I R E C T O R Y

To advertise in the Seasonal Contractors Directory contact Neville on 09 947 3580 / 021 377 580or Marlene on 021 854946 before Monday 13 December.

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at pedestrians are problems more associated with urban areas but courier drivers and census takers also have their ‘dog’ moments in the rural areas.

Mr Knightbridge marvels that society is so accepting of bad dog behaviour, regardless of where the situation occurs. “It is not acceptable for people to behave like that, yet aggressive or biting dogs seem to be tolerated.” He recalls one incident in Wellsford recently where a child was bitten at a family gathering. The family became

quite divided about whether the dog should have been put down or not. It went to court and the dog lived.

Some dogs are destroyed and officers do have the authority to shoot worrying dogs. They also offer new hope to dogs or stock which is not being properly cared for or no longer wanted. The council operates a pound in Silverdale, which can accommodate up to 40 impounded dogs. About 70% of all dogs held at the pound are eventually rehoused.

When incidents of cruelty to animals are reported to the council they are referred to the SPCA. In summertime, and particularly over the Christmas holidays, the incidence of cruelty and abandonment of animals rises dramatically, but these cases seldom involve lifestyle block owners.

It must be said that people who are negligent or cruel regarding animals are

in the minority and that in spite of the problems discussed here most lifestyle block owners look after their animals really well – this is why they have chosen to live on the land.

Ed's Comment: Rural legal specialist Luke Kemp (contact details p18) adds that stock owner may be liable for damage if they are negligent and that negligence may include the failure to maintain an appropriate fence or shut a gate or similar.

For wandering stock stray dogs or ring the council on (09) 426 5169.

For matters concerning animal welfare, call Auckland SPCA on (09) 256 7300.

If you’re concerned about any aspects of your own dog’s behaviour call Sue Murphy of Dog Behaviour Solutions on (09) 415 9038.

santa is coming... and so are new owners for dogs at the silverdale pound.

R E G I S T E R E D V A L U E R SLifestyle Block Specialists for Southern Rodney.

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Call Ian 0274 955 262offi ce phone/fax 09 422 9358

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Help and advice is a phone call away

Ñ

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www.aucklandtreemasters.co.nz

24hr Emergency ServiceQualifi ed ArboristSpecialists in: Fine Pruning, Rose, Tree & Shrubs, Hedge Pruning, Tree Removal, Crown Reduction, Branch Chipping, Stump Grinding, Land Clearing. $5mil Public Liability.Pensioner Discounts • Free QuotesPhone Matt (09) 426 7912or 021 124 6478email: [email protected]

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Merry Christmas and thank you to all our valued clients. GIFT VOUCHERS are available here and

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For a full catalogue or volume quotes phone or email [email protected] or visit

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RX Plastics - A. 300ltr Rectanglular trough $215.00 B. 500Ltr Round $275.00 * small quanity of manufactureres seconds available still with 5 year warranty at heavily discounted prices - please enquire. C. Drainaway Pipe 65mm x 30mtrs $79.00 D. Alkathene polypipe 10m to 200m available. Large range of fittings available.

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december 2010 issue 39

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