Hi Readers.

January has been a busy month farmwise, finished shearing the lambs early in the piece getting $4.20/kg, being the same money as the Ewes wool end of November. I have not sold any Lambs and the old ewes are still here. I rang the agent last week about them and was told to kill them. Seems the ewe market is not that flash. Might try somebody else.

Got the dipping out of the road, thanks to my neighbour who has an electric eye machine. 2 hours or there about to dip 2800 or so. What a difference in productivity that has made, given that I used to spend 2 days with the shower dip, and every time a coconut the pump would break down, the water line would spring a leak or for no other explicable reason the water supply would dissappear just to pee me off !

Two weeks ago I went up to Whakapapa Village for a combined DoC and Animal Health Board consultative meeting . The consultation was to do with a 1080 poisoning programme planned for the Dominion bush behind Owhango. 11,000 hectares. There was a good turn out with reps from the Deer Stalkers lobby, the anti 1080 brigade, greenies and the press including  farmers and others. Plenty of DoC figures and of course the AHB.

This poisioning programme is a far cry from the methods used previously, being that 4kg per hectare of carrot was used in 2006, 2kg in 2011, and now this year less than 1kg per hectare of cereal laced with 1080. Well I have more than one concern the first being that the outcome was the best at 4 kg giving a 70% increase in measured biodiversity. The 2kg gave a 40% increase, and well the cereal at less than 1kg is a hope and a prayer.

The next concern is that Rats are being targeted. Thus as a secondary consequence Mustalids will be captured as a consequence of eating the poisioned rats. Both DoC and the AHB insist that the ceral bait will capture Oppossums too.  I was not awake to this but one of the Iwi reps was and was pretty forthright in his concern.

Thus my 3rd concern is just that. What is the AHB doing spending my hard earned $ targetting Rats. It seems that DoC’s ingenuity know’s no bounds when it comes to bludging dosh out of various organisations for Bio-diversity benefit. I had a further shock when as part of the presentation they (DoC) spoke of the great strides they had taken in building up Blue Duck no’s and how the 1080 programme would enhance those efforts even more. Sharron came home  yesterday with the news that our local Kia Wharite (Blue duck) trapper had had his hours cut right back so DoC could divert that funding into the Dominion programme.

I will say that I have heard all this sort of stuff before.

On another matter, I read in the NZ Hearald January the 6th, page A9. Our average temperature has risen 0.5 degrees since 150 and expected to keep going. That last year was the warmest since records were kept. A nice little chart is included. Over the page on page A10 there is article headed, US Ice Breaker joins rescue mission. Seems we had a research ship on a cruise trapped in unusually thick ice. A Chinise Ice Breaker which went to their aid trapped and now the US ship which went to it’s aid. A nice little letter to the editor on pg A25 probably say’s it all. Quote.

While America experiences its coldest winter in decades, two ice breakers are trapped in the summer sea freeze off Antartica. This global warming is freaking me out!! Pat Donovan Albany.

Mean while back to my old argument. Remember Nitrogen, water and carbon are 3 of the most important elements in the life cycle of every thing. The Straight Furrow January 14th page 11 reports on Environment Canterbury’s intention to impose N limits right across the Region of 20kg/hec. A farmer is quoted as saying this will cost the industry mega bucks. (Chris Allen) I do not know if anybodys balance sheet can stand this. He stressed that whilst farmers wanted to see an improvement in water quality, every body had a role to play. Exactly. Point source discharges from our Urban Waste Water, and associated discharges including Land Fills are the real culprits.

As I stated last month. Here come the barns. I see The Green Party have joined fray arguing against, whilst Fonterra has gone to the Government for legislative support to allow.

Over the page (10), I see Tom Lambie has made the New Years Honours list. Organic Farmer, past National President Federated Farmers. Chancellor Lincoln College, and Environment Canterbury Commissioner. Oh well what can one say.

Catch you later.