| 5 ARABLE » Brian Leadley United Wheat Growers Ltd. administers a Quality Assurance Programme as they look to guarantee quality parameters that exceed those of imported grain. 027 496 2702 or 03 307 8136 dean.rattray@hwr.co.nz For all your rural cartage requirements: Stock Cartage, Bulk & General Cartage, Fertiliser Spreading “Along with its obvious advantages for arable rotation systems, the global price increases on commodities including grain means the return is looking better. The challenge for the industry is to achieve sustainable markets at good long term average values, and we’ve seen considerable lift in the value in recent months which will help to encourage cropping farmers to lift the wheat percentage in their rotation,” says Brian. United Wheat Growers Ltd. administers a Quality Assurance Programme as they look to guarantee quality parameters that exceed those of imported grain, thus encouraging local customers to offer at least import parity on price, but also to get and give security of supply. “New Zealand grows a lot of its wheat, especially milling wheat, on good soils, and irrigated soils which helps make the grain quality better for example for our extraction. We have well developed on-farm storage systems that can isolate different grades of our with specialty baking qualities, and means we can provide full traceability from paddock to silo,” says Brian. While important in its own right for New Zealand, wheat is also a strong part of what is a growing arable industry. United Wheat Growers Ltd. runs an insurance scheme for disaster relief for all wheat growers, designed to give security to the producer should they be hit with the likes of re or frost. “While it’s particularly for wheat, if they’ve got 30% of their farm in wheat it underwrites their farming business as a whole, and helps support the production of other high value crops such as hybrid seeds for export. It supports the arable industry as a whole,” says Brian. New Zealand growers hold world records for yield for both wheat and barley production and as a country we have the highest average yield of wheat in the world. Recent research shows that the greenhouse gas emission per unit of production is very low because of those yields. “So these are advantages that are little or unknown,” says Brian. “I’m only farming at most 30% in wheat but it supports everything else we produce whether it’s primrose for export for oil extraction, or vegetables for Talleys, they all t into the rotation.” Brian makes no secret of the fact that he’d like to see a lift in production now that crop values have risen and the outlook is looking promising with markets there for arable farmers to supply. “The opportunities are there and we’re working to support farmers in the industry and also to promote it for new young guys to get into as well.” “I’m only farming at most 30% in wheat but it supports everything else we produce whether it’s primrose for export for oil extraction, or vegetables for Talleys, they all t into the rotation.” www.grseeds.co.nz
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