Outlook with Bill Webb Bill Webb Feed Solutions

We are not getting a lot of rain but it’s consistent, which means water tables are up and it doesn’t take much for it to get really wet underfoot. But it’s the opposite to parts of Australia, the United States and even Europe, which are really dry.

However, there is talk of higher temperatures here this summer –and weather scientists do suggest we’ll get a light El Nino pattern.

Everyone is focusing on how we create crops that can grow in drier conditions, how we get used to more-frequent rain events – and, how we need to be planning for this. I suppose they’re talking about climate change?

Early-September we’ll be starting preparation for our maize planting and grass harvesting, if the ground has dried out enough.

Farmers need to be thinking of paddock selections, how many they’ll take out of rotation, organising someone to test soil and getting drainage or clean-up jobs booked in with contractors  – before it turns dry and you want to push the ‘go’ button.

For cropping, chicory needs to be in early – as soon as they get onto the ground. The earlier, the better – especially on drier farms. This pays dividends.

Turnip crops need to be in early-mid October, to be ready early-January. But if ground conditions won’t let them they could sow a sorghum-type crop early-late November.

Another rural contractor has gone into receivership in the Bay of Plenty – that’s two here in 12 months. So times are still tough for farm suppliers, contractors and services. Years of hard times for farmers are still filtering through.

This is a reminder that contractors need to know what their costs are; including their replacement costs, depreciation, repairs and maintenance, and downtime. They need to factor all of these into their price structures because they are all true costs. Nobody seems to take downtime into account, but when you’re broken down and paying wages, work’s not getting done, and farmers are grumpy at lack of progress, you’re tracking negative. So it’s a cost. And you need a back-up plan.

Also, payment structures to rural businesses is averaging 8.3 days late for small businesses. Last year it was 8.8 days late. This still means many aren’t getting paid on the 20th. So they’ve got a shortfall – and it becomes a vicious circle. If they can’t pay their bills because they haven’t been paid, somebody else is not going to get paid etc. Cashflow is king for small businesses.

Fonterra was paying its suppliers 90 days late at one stage – that was just plain wrong. They’ve now corrected this – which is great because it just sent the wrong signal.

And only 50 per cent of small businesses went into credit through the year. So the statistics aren’t great All should have overdrafts planned into their financial equations to cover shortfalls and be able to pay bills on time. Otherwise, it hurts somebody along the line.

So once again; proper planning prevents pitiful performance. And remember it’s a business partnership – support those you hire, which provide a service in your time of need. If you’re loyal and pay your contractors on time they’ll be loyal to you.

Farmers seem a bit more confident for now – but their biggest concerns are regulations and compliance costs, followed by pests/biosecurity.

Another is regional councils not monitoring some farms for pollution. A recent Forest & Bird report found half of NZ’s regional councils aren’t annually monitoring effluent compliance on each farm.

Freshwater advocate Annabeth Cohen says nine seriously non-compliant Waikato farms hadn’t been inspected for more than 10 years.

It seems the councils are tough on some but are missing out others. It’s concerning some can slip under the radar – especially when others are investing huge money into lining ponds, building storage etc.

The public are becoming aware that we need to take control and start looking after our environment or there won’t be much of one left. With farmers now milking cows and washing effluent off the yard, it demands a thought – where is that going? Is it contained, controlled or treated properly? Take some ownership – for the sake of our environment.

We’re currently working through our costings for maize silage and they’ve increased a bit as the  price of fuel is up and road users are going up early-October so all those costs are starting to filter through. Farmers can now expect an increase on anything that has to be carted or involves machinery, contractors for example.