Lifelong commitment to support all things arable

A stalwart of a wide range of organisations including United Wheatgrowers, where he was chairman for five years, FAR, Federated Farmers and others, Worsfold was recognised for what the judges called his "lifelong enthusiasm, commitment and support for all things arable".

"My passion has been the wheat industry, working with the people within the industry to try and make it better for everybody," Worsfold told Rural News.

Among a slew of more minor awards, Worsfold was named the 2018 Arable Farmer of the Year, and the 2019 Wheat Grower of the Year jointly with his son Earl.

Along with Earl and his partner Fiona, wife Trish and daughter Catherine, Worsfold farms about 400ha at Greendale, near Darfield on the Canterbury Plains.

Worsfold says they grow "as much arable as we can". Most of the farm is harvested annually but carries stock through winter with about 3000 lambs currently on the property.

"If it's not harvested during the year, it will be going into green feed for dairy cattle or lambs."

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They also run a contracting business, and have previously also done their own cartage.

"My grandfather started with a traction engine and thrashing," he says.

Wheat remains Worsfold's passion and still the farm's biggest line but Earl grows barley, peas, and brassica, radish and clove seeds.

"I used to concentrate on what I did best," said Worsfold.

As it has always been, South Island wheat is pretty much all used in the South Island.

"It's one of the things that I've been involved with all along - how can we get it into the North Island at a realistic price to compete with Australian wheat."

Worsfold echoes the plea made during the Arable Awards ceremony by the Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Hamish Marr, that local growers could supply all the milling wheat for New Zealand, rather than importing from Australia, if rail and ferry services were upgraded.

Worsfold says the biggest change since deregulation has been the growth of the feed wheat industry, using varieties from England and Europe that grow extremely well, yield at least 20% more than milling wheats, and meet a big demand from the chicken, pig and dairy industries.

But he believes the milling wheat industry needs to double in size.

He says his concern "all along" is how long the milling wheat industry can maintain its research and development base on a limited production base.

He says lots of R&D goes into the milling wheat programme, spearheaded by PGG Wrightson and Plant & Food at Lincoln.

"They have a tremendous gene bank and ability to breed varieties that suit New Zealand.

"But for the tonnage that we're growing, you just wonder how long we can maintain that infrastructure and everything that goes with the breeding and research programme. And if we lose that it will never come back, because you won't be able to have all that history that's in the breeding programme."

"So, the only way we can increase bread wheat consumption, is by getting something north."

Meanwhile, he said there was currently some stockpiling of grass and clover seeds.

A big change in the seed industry was that he used to grow grass seed which was harvested in early January, then cleaned, dressed and made available in February for autumn sowing.

Now, later maturing varieties, which are better for the stock because they don't go to seed and stay green for longer, are not harvested until February and miss that immediate sowing window.

"So, the seed companies are having to carry it for a year."

Neither the local dairy industry nor Australia, the biggest market for grass seed, have been renewing pasture.

"And there's not much going into Europe or to the States as far as I can understand.

"It's just quiet right around the world."

But Worsfold hopes the dairy industry might use a bit this spring now that dairy returns have had "a bit of an upswing".