2016 UNITED WHEATGROWERS DIRECTORS ELECTIONS RESULTS

Congratulations to Michael Tayler of South Canterbury who was appointed to the board of United Wheatgrowers (NZ) Limited last Tuesday at our AGM. James Sim has now retired from the board. Brian Leadley was appointed Chairman, with Syd Worsfold as Vice Chairman.

The board of United Wheatgrowers is now:

Brian Leadley (Chairman)

Syd Worsfold (Vice Chairman)

Guy Wigley

Michael Tayler

The Levy for the 2016/17 harvest

The levy was set at $4.25 + gst  per tonne .  No change.

Payout for the 2016/17 harvest

Growers will receive a  pay out  of  $225 + gst per tonne on a claim. This is not full cover, but disaster relief to meet the cost of production. Growers can additionally top up the premium with their farm insurers.

A Reminder of how the scheme works

The premium is paid in arrears on the tonnage delivered, regardless of whether this is to a flourmill or any other end  user.  The levy is deducted from the payment and sent on to UWG. This is a compulsory legal requirement, endorsed by the recently held  grower election.

UWG has no problem with farmer to farmer trading, providing the levy is paid. The situation is the same if the wheat is not sold, but used within the same operation. In this case the grower is responsible for sending the payment to UWG.

Levy payment forms are available from  the UWG office, Brown Glassford. The contact is Erin Coakley. You can contact Erin at erin.coakley@brownglass.co.nz

If you have a disaster

If a grower is unfortunate enough to have a disaster they should first telephone FMG, our insurers to register their claim, on 0800 366 466. FMG will then appoint an assessor, this person will be a local grower, possibly a director or an Electoral Committee member. The assessor will make an initial appointment to visit your crop, then subsequent visits if necessary   to determine the loss.

When there is a serious event finding enough assessors can be a problem, so growers may have to wait for an inspection. We are always looking for more volunteers at these times.

2016 UNITED WHEATGROWERS DIRECTORS ELECTIONS & AGM NOTICE

As per last year we will continue to have an Electoral Committee meeting combined with the United Wheatgrowers AGM.  This year’s Electoral Committee & Annual General Meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday 2 August 2016 upstairs at the Ashburton Showgrounds commencing at 1pm

Nominations are called for one (1) vacancy on the United Wheatgrowers Board of Directors.  One director is elected each year, giving each director a 4 year term. This year James Sim is up for re-election by rotational retirement and has indicated he is not available for re-election.

See here for a nomination form.

Notices advertising the nominations will be placed in The Christchurch Press.

The advertisement will indicate the availability of additional nomination forms at the offices of Brown Glassford & Co Ltd.  These forms must be in the hands of the United Wheatgrowers Returning Office, PO Box 39-195, Christchurch 8545 by 4:00pm on Friday 29^th July 2016.

Election will be held by secret ballot at the United Wheatgrowers AGM/Electoral Committee meeting being held on Tuesday 2^nd August at 1pm at the Ashburton Showgrounds.

As per last year we will continue to have an Electoral Committee meeting combined with the United Wheatgrowers AGM.  This year’s Electoral Committee & Annual General Meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday 2 August 2016 upstairs at the Ashburton Showgrounds commencing at 1pm.

2016 WHEAT COMPETITION, SUPPORTED BY ATS

ATS Seed is proud to support the 2016 United Wheat Growers competition for a sixth consecutive year, and in a bid to raise the profile nationally, this year it’s pushing to attract more entries from wheat growers nationwide.

Started in February 2011 the objective of the competition is to celebrate success in the New Zealand wheat industry, encouraging growers and grain industry members to enter samples of wheat they feel has performed well on-farm from the 2016 harvest.

 “ATS Seed is proud to sponsor the competition as we see it as a good opportunity to highlight the success of wheat growers, and to give them the opportunity to showcase their crops and to expose new varieties that are coming through,” says ATS Seed General Manager Tim Dale.

“Wheat growing is still a cornerstone crop for most arable growers and they take a lot of pride and satisfaction when they achieve good grain yields and high quality levels from the testing process.”

 United Wheat Growers Director Brian Leadley says the judging process takes into account of several factors.

“There’s a number of quality tests they do,” he says. “When we grow our wheat there’s a number of criteria in our contracts, such as grain moisture, grain weight, grain size, and if it’s a milling class, then protein levels are very important for bread making. Passing these quality standards are important to try and exceed the minimum standards and achieve a good price for your end product.

“The judges will look at the physical appearance of the wheat too; for example a crop that has not been harvested when it was ready can lose some of its colour and quality which may limit the end use of the wheat.”

The five award categories again this year are: biscuit wheat, feed protein, feed wheat, milling/gristing wheat and premium milling wheat.

The 2016 competition is open to crops harvested in 2016, with entries closing May 31 2016. Juding will take place in Autumn with prize giving in July 2016.

If you have any questions or need clarification about the competition please contact George Walker, ATS Seed General Manager, on (03) 307 5102 or george.walker@ats.co.nz or Brian Leadley, Director United Wheat Growers, on 027 450 5305 or brian.rachel@xtra.co.nz. ATS Seed and the United Wheat Growers look forward to your support of the 2016 UWG wheat competition.

For an entry form, contact ATS on 0800 BUY ATS (289 287), www.ats.co.nz or follow the link below.

2016 Entry Form

December 2015 Newsletter

The Levy for the 2015/16 harvest

The levy is now $4.25 + gst  per tonne .  This has been reduced this season.

Payout for the 2015/16 harvest

Growers will receive a  pay out  of  $225 + gst per tonne on a claim. This is not full cover, but disaster relief to meet the cost of production. Growers can additionally top up the premium with their farm insurers.

A Reminder of how the scheme works

The premium is paid in arrears on the tonnage delivered, regardless of whether this is to a flourmill or any other end  user.  The levy is deducted from the payment and sent on to UWG. This is a compulsory legal requirement, endorsed by the recently held  grower election.

UWG has no problem with farmer to farmer trading, providing the levy is paid. The situation is the same if the wheat is not sold, but used within the same operation. In this case the grower is responsible for sending the payment to UWG.

Levy payment forms are available from  the UWG office, Brown Glassford. The contact is Erin Coakley. You can contact Erin at erin.coakley@brownglass.co.nz

If you have a disaster

If a grower is unfortunate enough to have a disaster they should first telephone FMG, our insurers to register their claim, on 0800 366 466. FMG will then appoint an assessor, this person will be a local grower, possibly a director or an Electoral Committee member. The assessor will make an initial appointment to visit your crop, then subsequent visits if necessary   to determine the loss.

When there is a serious event finding enough assessors can be a problem, so growers may have to wait for an inspection.                                                                                                            

We are always looking for more volunteers at these times.

The directors wish growers an enjoyable festive season, and good luck for a safe successful harvest

WHEAT COMPETITION 2014

Brian Leadley currently organising the annual United Wheatgrowers Wheat Competition for the 2014 year with the ongong support of ATS. Prize giving will take place in July 2014 with details to follow. Judging will take place in the Autumn for milling, feed and biscuit classes, with each category having a 1st, 2nd and 3rd placing. Entry forms can be downloaded from the link below.

All crops harvested in 2014 are eligible and growers are encouraged to start gathering (245K) samples for the competition now. All entries must be received by 31st May 2014. One entry per class per farm, with each entry being tested on the visual and tested quality for the particular end use of the wheat. The judge's decison will be final.

 2014 Entry Form

2014 Wheat Insurance Commodity Levy Referendum

Due to administrative issues the United Wheatgrowers Board have decided to cancel this current levy vote and replace it with another voting period that will start on April 25 and close on May 21. New voting packs will be posted out to all growers and these will include new access codes for voting. All votes that have been cast will be deleted and all existing voting material will be securely destroyed. The United Wheatgrowers Board apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.

James Sim, Chair United Wheatgrowers

WHEAT COMPETITION 2013

Brian Leadley is once again organising the annual United Wheatgrowers Wheat Competition for 2013 with the support of ATS. Prize giving will take place at the annual Federated Farmers Grains Conference scheduled for 2nd & 3rd July 2013. Judging will take place in the Autumn for milling, feed and biscuit classes, with each category having a 1st, 2nd and 3rd placing. Entry forms can be downloaded from the link below.

All crops harvested in 2013 are eligible and growers are encouraged to start gathering samples for the competition now. All entries must be received by 20th May 2013 for judging to take place in autumn with results announced at the UWG AGM. One entry per class per farm, with each entry being tested on the visual and tested quality for the particular end use of the wheat.

Entry Form (261K)

November Electoral Committee Meeting 2013

The annual November Electoral Committee meeting was held on Friday 30th November 2012 at the Comfort Hotel Benvenue in Timaru. James Sim was re-appointed as director after standing unopposed. After the compliance part of the meeting, directors and Electoral Committee members visited the Seedlands' construction site of their new farmer-owned flour mill currently being built (47 Meadows Road, Washdyke). As previously reported in the Farmers Weekly in May last year, the “Farmers Mill” project is being driven by a consortium of 12 South Canterbury farmers and will complement Seedlands Grainstor Ltd grain storage facility which is owned by the same producers. The General Manager and Chairman met with members and reported on their progress and future strategies.

2014 Wheat Insurance Commodity Levy Referendum