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AgVetLink: Number 61, April 2007

‘Out and about’

A point raised in last year’s customer survey was that ACVM Group staff should ‘get out and about’ more. With this in mind, several members of the Group recently accepted an offer from Nufarm and Elliot Technologies to tour their Auckland production sites, and to visit some local growers and a working trial site.

Nufarm’s Allan Cliffe and Brian Smith from Elliott Technologies took the group from the airport to Nufarm’s head office in Manuwera where they met Emma Wilson (regulatory affairs) and toured the Nufarm production site.

Next was a visit to the mesclun salad production site in Mangere with Gary Graham, Pukekohe Growers Supplies Limited (Elliot Technologies). The group talked with Gary about the challenges faced with using product, off-label uses, the effects of weather on this fast growing crop, meeting supply and demand etc. They moved on to the Pukekohe Growers Supplies Boardroom for further discussions and a presentation by Brian Smith. This provided an overview of the business units involved in the handling and use of agricultural compounds through the food chain, and the hoops that a grower/farmer has to jump through to ensure compliance with various pieces of legislation.

After lunch the group visited Young Wah Chong Ltd, a well known and large grower who supplies KFC with the bulk of their cabbage. Mr Howe Young showed the group summer squash and pumpkins in the field and the machinery used for spraying large plantings of these types of crops. He talked about challenges growers face, especially with meeting supermarket requirements, increasing costs for vegetable growers, sourcing labour for harvesting crops, compliance with the HSNO Act and, in particular, the approved handler regime.

At Alpha Research the group saw trials (residues and efficacy) on plots of brassicas etc, and were shown equipment used. The advantages of using independent researchers over CRIs were also explained.

Nearing the end of the day, the last visit was a quick look around a seed treatment plant and the equipment used to coat various types of cropping seeds.

Discussion topics

The field trip reinforced some of the messages the ACVM Group has been receiving or has been discussing with registrants, including:

• the impact of ERMA and HSNO changes

• the rationale behind Government and local government regulations

• meeting the chemistry standard in terms of parameters such as stability (ie many products have a shelf life of more than two years but problems arise due to the legislation that states the two-year shelf life statement is to be used on the label)

• the cost/time involved in some assessments (eg simple C2, 3, 4/5)

• whether efficacy is an ACVM Group concern or should it be left up to the registrant

• ‘not to be used on animals’ statement to be incorporated onto the label.

In discussions it was determined that all of the above issues are already on the ‘work list’ to be reviewed during the ACVM Group’s current review of the ACVM Act and procedures to make things more simple.

All in all, the group found the day very informative and interesting. It provided a clear look at some of the hurdles that growers/registrants/importers face in their day to day efforts to ensure compliance with various pieces of legislation, local government bodies and international sectors.

The ACVM Group would like to thank Allan and Brian for their time and efforts in organising the field trip.