Farmers take shearing machines to the Mongolian steppes :
New Zealand farmers have shared their shearing knowledge with more than 100 Mongolian herders during a five week tour of the country.
It was done as part of the Share Mongolia Programme, an initiative set up in 2020 to introduce modern shearing techniques and equipment in Mongolia.
Rabobank agribusiness manager Paul Brough helped set up the programme, and said last year four Mongolian herders spent three months working in shearing gangs throughout New Zealand to sharpen their skills. So this time it was great to travel to Mongolia to share more knowledge.
He said the contingent of 12 farmers from throughout New Zealand split up into three groups to deliver the training. . .
Milk set to spill as dairy prices tumble – Hugh Stringleman :
The largest fall in prices across five out of six dairy commodities in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction has exporters and analysts reaching for the red pens to cut milk price forecasts.
The 4.3% fall in the GDT index along with the 8% fall in whole milk powder prices takes farmgate milk price predictions into $7/kg territory, having lost touch with the $8s and $9s of the past two seasons.
Fonterra’s forecast mid-point of $8 for the season now looks to be 20c too high, Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny said.
He slashed $1.10 from his own forecast two weeks ago but now says $7.80 has downside risk. . .
Huge response to Year of the Farmer – Shawn McAvinue :
The Otago Daily Times and Rural Life have been overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm for the 2023 Year of the Farmer initiative, which celebrates the South Island’s food and fibre producing champions.
ODT business editor Sally Rae said screeds of nominations were received, covering the length of the South Island, and they made for heart-warming reading.
‘‘They reflected exactly why we implemented this initiative; to showcase the work of farmers to create an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable future while also making a positive contribution to their rural communities.’’
The nominations had been narrowed down to 52 — representing the weeks of the year — and they will be profiled by Ms Rae and her team of rural journalists in a special publication, to be published on August 30, she said. . .
Entries invited for 2024 Ballance Farm Environment Awards :
Farmers and growers across the country are encouraged to enter the Ballance Farm Environment Awards and help continue to grow a healthy future for farming. Run by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust, the awards champion sustainable farming and growing and celebrate good practice and innovation across the primary sector.
NZFET General Manager Sarah Harris invites farmers and growers at any point of their sustainability journey to get involved.
“Being part of the awards programme is a positive way to receive feedback on your business, help identify strengths and learn from others who are passionate about the food and fibre sector.”
Through the BFEA programme, farmers and growers have the opportunity to showcase, benchmark, and improve the sustainability of their operation through a constructive process where agribusiness professionals provide feedback, recommendations, and commendations. . .
MPI announces 2023 Good Employer Awards finalists :
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has announced finalists for the 2023 Primary Industries Good Employer Awards.
Now in their fourth year, the awards celebrate and recognise good employers who show genuine passion for ensuring the success of their people.
“We were blown away by the record number and high calibre of entries in this year’s Good Employer Awards,” says Beth Davie, Manager Workforce at MPI.
“We received entries from a range of different employers in the food and fibre sector including dairy, forestry, horticulture, meat processing, and food production. . .
Chicken welfare top of the pecking order for the 2023 AgriFutures Research Awards :
A groundbreaking animal growth and welfare monitoring, detection and notification system has been awarded the annual AgriFutures Research Award for 2023.
Developed by Dr Cheryl McCarthy, a mechatronics engineer at the University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Agriculture Engineering, the Novel Detection of Chicken Welfare Using Machine Vision project will see the development of a proof-of-concept system for monitoring chickens and their behaviour in chicken sheds. The system will seek to provide instant remote notifications to the shed supervisor to indicate when conditions could be affecting flock welfare.
Dr McCarthy said the award recognised how important ongoing research is for improving efficiencies in the chicken meat industry.
“I am very excited to receive this award for research to develop new machine vision technologies for monitoring chicken flocks,” Dr McCarthy said. . .
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