Farmer gets back on feet after cattle disease Mycoplasma strikes – Gerard Hutching:
Ashburton dairy farmer Frank Peters is feeling more optimistic than in May when he tearfully watched 300 of his “beautiful” calves being sent off to slaughter.
They had no signs of the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis but the fact others in the 1400-strong herd were infected was enough for the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) to pronounce the death sentence.
So far he has been compensated “about $2 million” for the replacement of his cattle. Nationwide $18.9m worth of claims have been paid out, from $25.3m received. . .
Mycoplasma bovis confirmed in Northland district:
Biosecurity New Zealand today confirmed a property in Northland has tested positive for the bacterial cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis. It’s the first time the disease has been found in this region.
The infected property is a dry stock beef farm. The farm, as with all other infected properties, was identified through the tracing of animals movements from known infected farms and is under a Restricted Place legal notice under the Biosecurity Act 1993.
This effectively places them in quarantine lockdown – restricting the movement of animals and other risk goods on and off the farm. . .
Micro-credentials give biosecurity industry edge – Yvonne O’Hara:
Biosecurity-focused micro-credentials (MC) will be the one of the first bite-sized qualifications available from Primary ITO, once the relevant rules and paperwork are signed off.
The industry training organisation is also planning micro-credentials for dairy and horticulture.
Primary ITO chief executive Dr Linda Sissons said the relevant legislation had been passed earlier this year, which allowed training organisations to offer the micro-credentials to their workplace-based students. . .
Just when the M Bovis story appeared to have had quietened down another twist has appeared, although this may not be what the headlines intimate.
Earlier this week, it was reportedAlfons Zeestraten, the farmer MPI appeared to consider to be at the centre of where M Bovis got started, was to appear at the Invercargill District Court. The charges relate to the importation of machinery; Zeestraten has stated that he is innocent of the charges. MPI have refused to comment on the case. If the charges are indeed unrelated to the M Bovis outbreak MPI would be doing everybody a service in stating that, given the emotions and interest surrounding the disease, and stop a lot of speculation.
On to more normality, the price of milk to consumers has reared its head again, this time with Chris Lewis Federated Farmers Dairy Chair leading the calls to boycott supermarkets and support corner dairies who he finds sell it far cheaper. New Zealand has the third highest milk consumption per head of capita, however, our milk prices appear to be driven by the highest price able to be gained on the international markets. Consumers point to other countries that can sell milk at a considerable discount to what is charged in New Zealand. . .
Farmers are now ‘up to their elbows’ in calves – Ella Stokes:
Calving season is in full swing for many dairy farmers around the region. This week Southern Rural Life reporter Ella Stokes caught up with Clydevale farmer and calf rearer Phillippa Foster.Polaris
At this time of year Phillippa Foster said she was always ”up to her elbows in calves” but said she loved the job.
She and husband Greg originally farmed in Taranaki before moving south five years ago.
They were now 50/50 sharemilkers on their Clydevale farm near Balclutha. Their children Greer (10) and Preston (12) attended Clutha Valley School . .
LUV training hits the spot – Mark Daniel:
Quads and light utility vehicles (LUV) get a bad rap because operators’ poor skills and riding judgement cause crashes. Quality training can reduce such incidents.
Jacks Farm Machinery, Whakatane, a forward-thinking machinery dealer in the Bay of Plenty region known for horticulture, decided to act.
This supplier of Polaris quads and LUVs was already in the business of certified modifying Ranger and Ace models to allow them to work under pergolas in kiwifruit orchards; this also allowed orchardists to switch from quads to LUVs. . .
Not a bad apple – Gala passes Red Delicious as America’s favourite – Nathan Bomey:
At their core, Americans have changed – at least when it comes to their apple preferences.
The Red Delicious apple is expected to lose its title as the most popular apple in the US this year, a perch it held for more than half a century.
The US Apple Association is projecting that the gala apple will usurp the red delicious for the top spot.
The group, which advocates on behalf of 7500 US apple growers and 400 companies in the apple business, predicted that the US would grow 52.4 million Gala apples in 2018, up 5.9 per cent from a year earlier. . .
Environment water for sale in drought-hit Victoria –
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder has announced a sale of 20 gigalitres of water from the Goulburn Valley in Victoria.
The water will be sold udner a competitive tender which opens at 10:00am Monday September 3 2018 and will close at 2:00pm Wednesday September 5.
There will be a minimum bid size of 5 megalitres and a maximum bid size of 500ML, which the CEWH said would balance the access of small and large irrigators to the trade.
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