RSE worker shortage ahead of cherry harvest – Neal Wallace:
The new season cherry harvest begins in Marlborough in three weeks and growers are still none the wiser whether they will have sufficient pickers.
Labour prospects are even more clouded when the main summerfruit picking season starts in January, requiring 7000 people at its peak.
The costs of leaving fruit on the trees is substantial, warns Summerfruit NZ chief executive Richard Palmer.
Harvesting of the country’s main export cherry crop in Central Otago starts in mid-December and he says if 30% is left unharvested that represents a loss of more than $20 million in export revenue. . .
Fields of courgettes go to waste because growers can’t get workers – David Fisher:
Brett Heap is surrounded by food gone to waste – rows of courgettes he couldn’t get picked because his expert and specialised workforce can’t get into the country.
His story is a peek behind the curtains of a looming disaster everyone saw coming and – it appears – no one knows how to solve.
New Zealand is heading into peak harvest season and there aren’t enough workers to get fruit off trees or vegetables from the ground.
“This could be my last crop,” says Heap, who grows courgettes near Waipapa in Northland. “I’m at the point where I’m not going through it again. . .
Why this nutritionist says we should eat more red meat :
Independent nutritionist Mikki Williden says Kiwis shouldn’t be afraid of eating red meat.
Recently the Heart Foundation suggested people should consume less than 350g of unprocessed red meat a week to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
This amount was “super low”, Williden told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.
“It would be a rare case where I would encourage people to have less than 160 grams cooked which might equate to about 200 grams raw – and then across the course of the week – that is well in excess of what the Heart Foundation is recommending.” . .
Beef + Lamb NZ announces 2021 Ambassador Chefs and new ‘Young Chef’ award:
For twenty-five years, Beef + Lamb New Zealand has been shaping the careers of chefs around the country. Each year the Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef programme selects those who are creating and serving incredible beef and lamb dishes in their restaurants. These chefs drive innovation and creativity within the foodservice sector.
With the challenges that Covid-19 has brought this year, Beef + Lamb New Zealand will be carrying over their four current Ambassador Chefs – Tejas Nikam, Paddock to Plate Waikato; Phil Clark, Phil’s Kitchen; Jack Crosti, Mela and Norka Mella Munoz, Mangapapa Hotel into 2021.
In addition to this, and to celebrate 25 years, Beef + Lamb New Zealand are offering a one-off opportunity for a young emerging chef to be named as the Beef + Lamb Young Ambassador Chef 2021. . .
The secret – shear determination – David Hill:
Peter Casserly has hung up his blades after adding his name to another world record.
The 72-year-old master blade shearer came out of retirement earlier this year to compete in the 60th Golden Shears in Masterton, before being invited to shear a special sheep at the Poverty Bay A&P Show last month for charity. And it was the charity aspect that appealed to him.
“I don’t think you ever retire, it’s like riding a bike. Somebody’s always got a pet to shear or a couple of sheep on their lifestyle block to be shorn. You just fade away in the finish,” Mr Casserly said.
“At the end of the day the anxiety and the tension of it all is getting too much. . .
LIC enabling agricultural improvements in Ethiopia:
LIC is enabling agricultural improvements in a country more renowned for coffee than cows with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Ethiopia has around 60 million cattle, one of the largest bovine populations in Africa. Its combined herd produces about 90% of the country’s milk with additional supply coming from camels, goats and sheep. With a population of more than 110 million people, Ethiopia has a growing demand for animal products including dairy, meat and hides but this is currently limited by a lack of decision making tools and the ability to provide insights from the livestock sector.
The collaborative initiative, Project aLIVE (A Livestock Information Vision for Ethiopia), is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and aims to provide timely insights intended to increase production on farms in Ethiopia and decision making at a government level. . .
The food standards debate has shown this Government must be closely watched – Joe Stanley:
The food standards debate has shown this Government must be closely watched if we are to protect our farming industry, says Leicestershire arable and beef farmer Joe Stanley.
So, in the end, Government blinked.
It wasn’t a very big blink, it must be said. Blink, indeed, and you might have missed it.
But, nevertheless, at the eleventh hour (plus fifty-nine minutes and fifty nine seconds), Ministers finally conceded – mere days before the final Commons vote on the Agriculture Bill – to placing the Trade and Agriculture Committee (TAC) on a statutory footing, giving it a formal role in advising Parliament on every future trade deal and its repercussions for British food and farming. . .
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