North Canterbury farmers confronted by milk crisis – Tim Cronshaw, Gerald Piddock, Gerard Hutching:
Dairy farmers across the Kaikoura and North Canterbury region will have to dump their milk into effluent systems or find other ways to deal with it because it cannot be picked up.
Fonterra said road conditions in Kaikoura meant there were about 30 farms that might not have their milk collected, while others around the country might have late collections as tankers were rerouted.
A Federated Farmers spokeswoman said local councils had given the go-ahead for milk to be dumped into paddocks, following the midnight quake. . .
Farmers pool resources to keep milking:
North Canterbury farmers are rallying together by sharing cow sheds and lending generators as they try to carry out the daily business of running their farms despite some suffering extensive damage from Monday morning’s quake.
Culverden dairy farmer Justin Slattery said about half of Culverden, in north Canterbury, had lost power and he was still waiting for it to come back on at his farm.
Slattery had been using his neighbour’s milking shed and was working around him, meaning his 520 cows got milked almost five hours late on Monday morning. He planned to return at 6pm if power had not returned to his property. . .
Low price impact on milk production slight – Sally Rae:
Milk production eased only slightly in 2015-16, despite the lowest milk prices in at least 20 seasons, figures released by DairyNZ and LIC show.
Production was down 1.5% nationally, despite 52 fewer herds and 20,522 fewer cows than in 2014-15.
South Island production increased 2%, with rises in both Marlborough-Canterbury (2%) and Otago-Southland (2%). . .
Alexandra space research centre taking off :
A Central Otago space research centre has been tipped as a game changer for Alexandra after it was announced this morning it is to be funded as a regional research institute.
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce made the announcement at a breakfast meeting in Alexandra.
Mr Joyce said the New Zealand Research Institute of Viticulture and Oenology in Marlborough had been chosen as the first new regional research institute.
The Centre for Space Science Technology (CSST), led by Alexandra-based research company Bodeker Scientific requested $15million in funding. . .
Constable Rhys Connell says police want to work in partnership with rural communities – Sue O’Dowd:
Police are committed to working in partnership with rural communities, says Taranaki rural police officer Rhys Connell.
“Ninety per cent of rural crime is solved by people in the community who see and hear things and let us know about them,” he told about 50 people at a rural crime prevention national roadshow in Stratford.
The roadshow also visited Tikorangi. Eight roadshows have already been in other areas of the country as part of a joint police, FMG and Federated Farmers initiative to promote rural crime prevention measures.
“You are our eyes and ears,” Connell said. “It’s us together, not you and us.” . .
Native mussels thrive in Canterbury stream:
Last year, we heard the story of Nigel Gardiner who found some Endangered native mussels as a result of riparian planting and continued work around the stream to improve its health. Here’s the latest update, a year on since the first discovery.
Endangered native mussels, or Kākahi, are continuing to thrive in the creek on FLO – Triangle farm in Canterbury one year after they were discovered by sharemilker Nigel Gardiner.
Kākahi are one of only three species of the endangered fresh water mussels to exist in New Zealand and can live for between 30 and 50 years. . .
Far from ‘uneducated’ – Life on this Side of the Fence:
If you watched any of the recent presidential election results, you may have noticed a recurring theme. As traditionally blue states turned red, a common phrase heard among reporters was that the “uneducated rural community” had made a larger turnout than what was expected. As a member of the rural community, which is quite educated might I add, I saw a few things wrong with this statement.
First, the political affiliations of a certain group of people should in no way merit the assumption of education, or lack thereof. In a society that claims to be open to all walks of life and discourages the labeling of cultural groups, I felt that the way rural voters were viewed was quite misguided. . .
Homepaddock 