The hum of harvesters will be heard loudly in rural New Zealand until April as harvest of cereal crops, small seed crops and other specialist crops is undertaken.
As the excitement of another harvest draws near I am always cautiously optimistic about harvest results.
In Canterbury this year we had perfect conditions leading into Christmas, with rain at the right times, but the sustained period of heat never quite eventuated.
So while we won't be record breakers this year, harvest will largely be on par with previous years.
Arable farmers typically fly under the radar in New Zealand.
We don't often seek the headlines but we do make a significant contribution to the nation's economy.
In 2015, the arable industry contributed $750 million to GDP in sales and when indirect impacts were added, contributed nearly $2 billion to the economy.
Not bad when you consider the fluctuations in the dairy payout and a reluctance of livestock farmers to purchase grain.
While cereal grains are the heart of the arable industry, production of small seeds and specialist grains are now a key part of our sector as well.
New Zealand's reputation as a high quality producer of seeds for the global market is built on our pest, weed and disease-free status.
This reputation has been in put in jeopardy recently by the cavalier attitudes of some seed importing companies and repeated failures of our biosecurity legislation at the border.
For example, velvetleaf came in via contaminated pelletised seed, pea weevil in contaminated pea seed and blackgrass in contaminated rye grass seed.
It doesn't stop there. In late 2016, the arable industry was notified of detection of a new clover case bearer moth, which is a major pest of red clover seed production.
Red clover is enjoying a renaissance in New Zealand and is becoming a popular choice in pasture mixes for many sheep, beef and high country farmers.
Throughout each of these incursions Federated Farmers has been working constructively with MPI to ensure decision making and subsequent actions were guided by good science, common sense, best practice and undertaken with some urgency.
We disseminate information to our members and take member concerns back to MPI.
While the responses were not perfect, it is clear that MPI staff are passionate about biosecurity. But they, like farmers, are let down by the actions of some seed importers and shortcomings in our biosecurity system and legislation.
Some of our Import Health Standards, for example, are more than 10 years old and you have to question whether they are fit for purpose.
On the evidence of the last 12 months, I would say no.
Science, best practice and processing technologies have improved significantly in this time.
MPI's core role is to work for the primary industries, for farmers. So come on MPI, work for us and make improvements to border processes.
I know we'd both rather be focusing on our core roles than sitting through another response meeting.
- Guy Wigley is the Federated Farmers Arable Chairman.