365 days of gratitude

A text last week alerted me to the arrival of flu vaccines at my GP.

I made an appointment for this morning, got the jab, sat reading for the required 20 minutes afterwards just in case I had an allergic reaction then got on with my day.

Today I’m grateful for medical science and research which reduce the risk of contracting potentially deadly diseases.

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Thriving regions need health & rescue services

Proposed changes to helicopter rescue services in the regions could cost lives.

. . Te Anau has not been included in the list of bases proposed under the National Ambulance Sector Office’s (NASO) call for air ambulance services and will now be covered by Queenstown.

NASO is seeking larger area-based contracts, including one for all of the South Island, because the demand for air ambulance services has been rising.

If demand is rising why would they cut out a base?

Under the proposal, Fiordland will be covered by helicopters from Queenstown, but only if the three companies that provide services in the South Island now – Heliworks in Queenstown, the Otago Helicopters in Dunedin and Garden City Helicopters in Christchurch – band together to bid for a contract to cover the whole of the South Island. 

Lakes District Air Rescue Trust chairman Jules Tapper said the three companies had formed a company called HEMS NZ and were considering bidding for the South Island work, but twin-engined helicopters were required under the new proposal and Te Anau would not be a base,

Lakes District Air Rescue Trust operates emergency rescue helicopters from bases in Queenstown and Te Anau.

Tapper said lives would undoubtedly be lost under the new proposal if Te Anau was no longer a base.

“They seem to think they can cover it from Queenstown but it is 20 to 25 minutes flying time from Queenstown to Te Anau before you head into Fiordland and lives will be lost in that time.

“Having only twin-engined machines is a huge increase in costs and one size does not fit all. The new plan excludes Squirrels. They’re fast, very nimble and can get into tight clearings and tight places where you can’t get big machines.” . . 

The trust covers the biggest geographical area in the country, from Haast to Alexandra and Invercargill and undertook rescues in the Southern Ocean.

It flew more than 400 missions a year and about 200 of them were from Te Anau.

The Te Anau based service also has experienced pilots who know the terrain and weather.

Southern Lakes Helicopters pilot Sir Richard Hayes, who was flying on Sunday and could not be reached for comment, was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to search and rescue and has more than 40 years’ experience flying.

Fiordland LandSAR secretary Stewart Burnby said the proposal to not have a base at Te Anau was “the most bloody stupid thing I’ve ever heard.”

He had been involved in search and rescue for more than 25 years in Fiordland, much of it with Hayes and said his loss of experience would cost lives.

“It sounds like a recipe for disaster. To put it bluntly Richard has the experience and the equipment, Queenstown don’t.

“Mountain flying is a very different beastie and he knows the place like the back of his hand. It sounds like politics is getting in the way of sensibility.”

Clutha Southland MP Hamish Walker said it was unacceptable that the service was at risk of being moved away from the region

“It is very concerning that local rescue helicopters in Te Anau, that have successfully operated for nearly three decades, may no longer receive Government funding after being left out of the Government’s proposals for helicopter rescue services.

“The Te Anau helicopters have helped to save lives and are an important part of a timely rescue response service for our region.”

The importance of local knowledge was illustrated last week:

. . . He [Tapper] said sometimes it was impossible for helicopters from Queenstown to get into the area.

“Last Friday was a classic example when there is no way a machine could’ve got in from outside of the area, it was shocking winds and snow and rain and yet Sir Richard Hayes was able to sneak up Lake Te Anau and up the Milford Track to the Mckinnon Pass where two ladies were succumbing to hypothermia – one was in a very, very bad way and would’ve undoubtedly died if she hadn’t been pulled out.

“Now that is a classic example where the machine, on the spot with local knowledge, was able to do the job successfully.” . . 

It’s not just South Island services under threat.

. . . A pilot for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter in Taupō, Nat Every, said last year the Taupō and Rotorua rescue helicopters flew 420 missions around the region, which includes the Central Plateau and the Tongariro National Park.

Without bases there, people would be forced to wait longer for help.

“If you require a helicopter and you are in the Taupō/Central Plateau region, I think it’s fair to say – categorically – it will take longer for that helicopter to reach you than it currently does,” Mr Every said.

And the longer people are forced to wait, the more critical their situation becomes, he said.

“It is absolutely time-critical. You’re having a heart attack, you’re having breathing difficulties, you’re in a car accident, it’s your child, it’s your wife, it’s your children, your mother, your family member, you know every second counts,” Mr Every said.

The Taupō area would have to rely on helicopters coming from Taranaki, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hawke’s Bay or Palmerston North.

That could add an extra 35 minutes to an hour to the flight time. It would also leave those regions without access to a helicopter while it was being tasked elsewhere, he said. . . 

Mr Every said factors like the weather and the geography of an area were crucial.

“It’s all very well for someone to have a map of New Zealand and draw circles around several hospitals and go ‘OK well that circle covers that area and that area … and look I think we’ve go the country covered there’.

“As a paper exercise it all seems to work but what it doesn’t take into account is the weather, the hills, the geography,” he said. . . 

The government aims to eliminate road deaths.

That’s a highly aspirational goal which won’t be helped if the lives of accident victims are lost for want of rescue services relatively near by with pilots and crew who know the area.

It’s not just rescue services which are threatened. The Rural Health Alliance  might also be lost:

Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) are saddened to see that the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (RHAANZ) will cease operating if it does not receive government funding next week.

“RWNZ supports the work already done by RHAANZ in bringing together various rural groups and rural health providers to develop initiatives for rural communities,” says RWNZ Board Member and Health Portfolio Convenor, Margaret Pittaway.

“Remarkable work has been done to deliver the Rural Health Road Map which sets out a plan and priorities for achieving healthily rural communities.

“Being geographically isolated, often with significant distance to the nearest town or health centre means that rural communities have an immediate need of affordable and reliable access to all health services.

”The Government has committed to rural proofing government policy, and RHAANZ has a vital part to play in this development – without the continuation of RHAANZ, and the work it does, rural communities will go backwards.

“There is no other place where issues impacting the health and wellbeing of rural communities are considered concurrently, and the loss of achievements met and efforts made by RHAANZ will be detrimental for our rural people.
RWNZ urges the Government to recognise the good work that has been done by RHAANZ and to support its continuation,” says Mrs Pittaway. . . 

Throwing money from the Provincial Growth Fund at feasibility studies is not rural-proofing government policy.

Funding for essential health services must come first.

Rural round-up

Gore couple win top sharemilking award :

Gore couple Simon and Hilary Vallely have been named share farmers of the year in the Southland-Otago Dairy Industry Awards.
The awards function was held last night at Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill.

Mr and Mrs Vallely, both 31, are 50:50 sharemilking 475 cows on David and Valerie Stafford’s 160ha farm.

They believed strong relationships with all people they dealt with were the key to their successful business. . .

Departing Fonterra chief executive has taken the company forward – Christine McKay:

Fonterra’s departing chief executive Theo Spierings has been a strong leader, Tararua Federated Farmer’s president Neil Filer says.

Mr Filer, who is also the Tararua group’s dairy spokesman, told the Dannevirke News Spierings had moved Fonterra to a value-added space, which was good for dairy farmers.

“He’s done a good job since he began,” Filer said.

Spierings has not named a date for his departure after seven years, but Fonterra board chairman John Wilson said he had made an “extraordinary” contribution while in the job. . . 

Ashburton farmer David Clark uses irrigation to grow wheat, peas, carrots & more on his farm. Globally 40% of the world's food is grown on 20% of cultivated land using irrigation.

Whatever you're eating – whether its fruit, veges, bread, meat or dairy, irrigation helps grow it! pic.twitter.com/xUOnT1baPy

— IrrigationNZ (@IrrigationNZ) March 22, 2018

Kiwi butchers finish second on world stage:

New Zealand’s butchery team, The Pure South Sharp Blacks, just missed out on being crowned world champions yesterday after finishing runners up at the World Butchers’ Challenge in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Team Ireland, the host nation took the top spot in a tense battle of the butchers with the Aussies – the Australian Steelers – finishing third… to the delight of many this side of the ditch.

Website to find workers praised:

Demand for horticulture workers is higher than the number of people available, Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman says.

He applauded the Work The Seasons website launched on Friday by the Ministry of Social Development. It gave growers access to more workers and gave people looking for work the chance to see what great opportunities existed in horticulture, ”not only for seasonal work, but also for permanent work and a lasting career”, Mr Chapman said. . 

#PeopleinFarming My brilliant Grandad who has been farming since he was 15 and is now 80, he still gets up at the crack of dawn everyday to work on the farm he has built and continues to do 15+ hour days combining at harvest. Thats pretty amazing if you ask me. #Farmers pic.twitter.com/o396A5Jiv7

— Ellie Cox (@elliecoxy) March 20, 2018

 

Telemedicine – keeping Kiwis well closer to home:

Dr Ben Wheeler is running remote diabetes clinics for rural Otago families, saving them the long trip to Dunedin.

Type one diabetes is the second most common chronic condition in children, after asthma. In my region, from South Canterbury to Stewart Island, there are up to 200 children and young people with diabetes. Being a kid with diabetes is no fun. You have to be careful about what you eat, put up with finger prick blood tests and injections every day, and often wear a bulky insulin pump under your clothes. When I first started working here, children with diabetes in Otago had to make the trip to Dunedin every three months, sometimes more often, to see me for their clinic. For some families that meant a round trip of up to nine hours. It meant mum and dad having to take a day off work – sometimes two days, if they had to stay overnight. Often brothers and sisters would need to come too, with everyone missing school – all this for a half-hour consultation. . . 

When the death of a family farm leads to suicide -Corey Kilgannon:

Fred Morgan was already deep in debt from rebuilding his milking barn after a fire when milk prices plunged in 2015, setting off an economic drought that is now entering its fourth year — the worst in recent memory for dairy farmers in New York State.

Mr. Morgan, 50, saw no way to save the dairy farm in central New York State that he took over as a teenager from his ailing father and ran with his wife, Judy, and their son, Cody.

With the farm operating at a loss and facing foreclosure, Mr. Morgan believed his only solution was his $150,000 life insurance policy. He said he planned on killing himself so his family could receive the payout.

“I’d sacrifice my life so my family could keep the farm,” Mr. Morgan said. His wife persuaded him otherwise. . .

Those who work ina cares not hours and those who feed others before themselves . . .thank you. #NationalAgDay

Rural round-up

Meat companies must be clear about their purpose – Allan Barber:

When I heard KPMG’s global agribusiness head, Ian Proudfoot, on the radio stating the move away from meat to alternative proteins was happening permanently and quickly and meat companies needed to wake up, I wondered whether I had strayed into the Pop Up Globe to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Surely if meat companies need to wake up to alternative protein, this implies their whole business model is broken and farmers should be sitting in front of their horoscopes looking for a magical answer to the inevitable question “what the hell do I do now?”

Proudfoot’s justification for his opinion is US meat processor Tyson Foods’ announcement it has become protein agnostic and intends investing heavily in alternatives to meat. . . 

Awatere Valley farmers make a dent in “scourge of the high country” – Pat Deavoll:

For over half a century hieracium has been the curse of the high country, engulfing native tussock land and destroying the grazing potential of areas such as the Mackenzie Basin, Central Otago and the Canterbury high country.

Most high country runholders would say the weed continues its spread with little sign of abating, but a small enclave in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough thinks otherwise.

“Yes I think it’s on the decline here,” says Jim Ward, manager of Molesworth Station. . . 

Fonterra launches cutting-Edgar technology taking health and safety into 22nd century:

Fonterra and Beca have partnered to develop a breakthrough virtual reality health and safety training technology. The cutting-edge solution lets employees navigate the Co-operative’s manufacturing and distribution sites without the need to set foot on site and will help substantially reduce onboarding times.

The new technology will place Fonterra at the forefront of global health and safety innovation and is part of a business wide commitment to become a world leader in risk mitigation. . . 

Gotta love Southland one minute your in a drought with a cover 1642 growing 6 kg/dm a day the next your in surplus with a cover of 2581 and growth of 107 kg/dm a day. @NickTempler #431am #southland pic.twitter.com/ehdQNrGhCu

— Anieka Venekamp (@AniekaNick) March 5, 2018

‘M. bovis’ hurts all down the chain – Sally Brooker:

Mycoplasma bovis is affecting people all along the cattle supply chain.
Oamaru-based Whitestone Livestock Ltd principal John Cheesman said the bacterial disease was ”a real bloody issue”.

M. bovis was identified for the first time in New Zealand in late July on farms near Glenavy owned by the Van Leeuwen Dairy Group.

”It’s not really affecting the Waiareka saleyards as much as farmers’ and everybody else’s confidence to buy animals from this district and any other district,” Mr Cheesman said.

Environmental issues No. 1 focus:

Reducing on-farm environmental footprints is the top priority at Lincoln University.

Speaking at the Lincoln University Dairy Farm’s summer focus day, which was held at the Ashley Dene Research and Development Station on February 22, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean Prof Grant Edwards said managing environmental concerns was the No1 focus.

”How can we progress our farms to maximise production within environmental limits?” . . . 

New study finds more omega 3s in milk from grass-fed cows – Hope Kirwan:

A new study shows milk from grass-fed cows has more of a nutrient linked to heart health than conventional and organic milks.

Organic Valley collected 1,163 samples over three years of their Grassmilk, a product line of milk from 100 percent grass-fed cows, and had their fatty acid content analyzed. The study compared the omega-3 fatty acid levels in the milk from grass-fed cows to conventional and organic milk. Researchers found that milk from grass-fed cows had 147 percent more omega-3s than conventional milk and 52 percent more than organic milk.

Omega-3 fatty acid has been shown to prevent heart disease and help control chronic conditions like arthritis. . .

Today we had a brilliant time meeting the March #MillenniumFarmers!

You could say that their reading habits have helped them become the successful leaders they are today – this is barely a quarter of them.

What ones have you read and what was the key message you took from them? pic.twitter.com/8hlVcK289M

— Millennium Farming (@TheY2KFarmer) March 7, 2018

Rural round-up

A2 Milk now a $10B company, eclipsing Fonterra as investors bet on bullish  – Rebecca Howard:

 (BusinessDesk) – A2 Milk Co is now more valuable than Fonterra, even though the milk marketer’s sales amount to less than 3 percent of the dairy giant’s, as investors bet it will continue to beat expectations.

A2 shares jumped 18 percent to $13.87 on the NZX and are trading at more than 50 times forecast per-share earnings – the highest price-to-earnings (PE ratio) of any company on the NZX 50 Index. The market capitalisation of a2 has jumped to $10.1 billion, exceeding the $9.76 billion value of Fonterra based on the $6.06 price of the shares that trade in a farmer-only market on the NZX. . . 

NZ’s largest dairy genetics supplier gets behind A2 market:

Herd improvement and agri-technology co-operative LIC welcomes the announcement from Fonterra and The a2 Milk Company about their new partnership as it prepares to launch a new team of elite A2 bulls supported by genotype testing that allows farmers to determine the A2 status of each of their animals.

As the country’s largest supplier of artificial breeding services, LIC’s bulls are responsible for up to 80 per cent of the cows grazing on dairy farms around the country. LIC has been providing farmers with A2 genotype testing for more than 15 years from its laboratory in Riverlea, Hamilton. Its first A2 bull was made commercially available to farmers for AI in 2002. . .

Shearers plan marathon session to support mental health organisations – Emma Dangerfield:

Before Mark Herlihy lost his brother to suicide two years ago, mental health was not something the family had needed to discuss.

There had been no signs, no-one had seen it coming.

“We’re a really bubbly sort of family,” Mark said of his parents and seven other siblings.

Michael was just 20. He and his brothers had been preparing for a shearing record, which may have put him under a bit of pressure, but nothing they would have attributed to such a dramatic event. . . 

DairyNZ water quality scientist Aslan Wright-Stow explains just how effective wetlands are at preventing contaminants from reaching waterways. https://t.co/GqnaKUFUee

— DairyNZ (@DairyNZ) February 22, 2018

Seepage wetlands work wonders:

A recent review commissioned by DairyNZ may surprise you at just how effective wetlands can be at preventing contaminants from reaching waterways. DairyNZ water quality scientist Aslan Wright-Stow explains.

Wetlands are often referred to as the kidneys of the land – they filter, absorb and transform water contaminants and, therefore, help to reduce excess reaching waterways. In particular, wetlands can be highly efficient at removing excess nitrogen by creating unique environments whose chemistry and hydrology are ideal for treating, in particular, shallow sub-surface flow, and also runoff from dairy farms.

A recent review of scientific studies in New Zealand, undertaken by NIWA for DairyNZ, found seepage wetlands can reduce the amount of nitrate – a problematic form of nitrogen – entering them by up to 75-98 percent. That’s higher than we previously thought. . . 

Name change underlines wool focus:

Federated Farmers wants to play a key role in ramped-up sector-wide collaboration on wool initiatives – and that’s reflected in a name change.

By unanimous vote of delegates from the Federation’s 24 provinces who met in Wellington this week, the Meat & Fibre Council and industry group is now the Meat & Wool Council and industry group.

It’s actually a return to the name that was used more than two decades ago, the chairperson, Miles Anderson, said. ‘Wool’ was switched out to ‘Fibre’ back then when mohair from angora goats was on the rise. . . 

Attention all 📻

Some important information for your consideration…#teamdairy#ProudOfDairy #nfu18 pic.twitter.com/Fe0tyX2zrx

— Abi Reader (@AbiReader) February 21, 2018

How avocado farmer Jenny Franceschi is taking on food waste – Cara Waters:

“I don’t think Australian consumers realise just how tough it is for some farmers,” says Jennifer Franceschi.

As an avocado farmer, Franceschi counts herself as one of the lucky ones with an avocado shortage driven by rising demand between seasons sending prices surging to about $7 per fruit at some retailers.

But concerned with the huge levels of food waste in agriculture, Franceschi and her husband, alongside three fellow growers, launched Fresh Produce Alliance out of Manjimup in Western Australia. . . 

Did you know we've had amazing #Februdairy posts from all over the world? Excellence in #dairy #farming is truly global – great to be able to celebrate such a wonderful industry. pic.twitter.com/vOs1FfmyB9

— Februdairy (@februdairy) February 21, 2018

 

 

Rural round-up

Southland eyes oats instead of dairy – Baz Macdonald:

Southland is looking into an alternative to dairy farming that taps into surging Asian demand, but uses less capital and water and produces less nitrates and greenhouse emissions. Baz Macdonald reports.

Agriculture represented 4% of NZ’s real GDP in the 2016 financial year, yet an OECD report released last year showed the sector produced half of our countries greenhouse emissions – making NZ the second highest creator of emissions per unit of GDP in the world. The recommendation from the OECD was that we develop “alternative measures to counter the pressures of farming”. . . 

Gita: Motueka orchards hit hard – Alexa Cook:

Orchards in the Motueka area have been hit hard by flooding from Cyclone Gita, prompting fears fruit will not make it to market.

The Nelson region grows a quarter of the country’s apples, and in the past week has started harvesting this year’s crop.

Apple and Pears Incorporated chief executive Alan Pollard said the flooding came at a bad time and was a big set back. . . 

Cyclone devastates ‘up to 50 percent’ maize crops – Alexa Cook:

The pressure is on for Taranaki farmers to harvest maize crops that have been flattened by Cyclone Gita, before the crop starts to die and rot.

The cyclone hit the region on Tuesday with wind gusts of up to 140km/h.

Southern and coastal Taranaki farmers have struggled with drought this summer, but conditions were just right for growing maize – and a bumper crop was expected.

However, Taranaki Federated Farmers president Donald McIntyre said the cyclone might have put an end to that. . . 

Well done Maryanne Baty. Finalist in the @Skellerup NZ Sportswoman of the Year #Norwood #NZRuralSportsAwards. Maryanne won the World #Woolhandling Teams Championship with Joel Henare, & was runner-up in the World Woolhandling Individual championship – 9 March @AwapuniRacing pic.twitter.com/uMq2lsbG3A

— Hilux NZ Rural Games (@NZRuralGames) February 22, 2018

NZ’s largest pine-to-native forest regeneration project reaches major milestone:

The last pine trees have been felled in a major Hawke’s Bay conservation project that aims to convert a 4,000-hectare pine plantation back to regenerating native forest.

Over 3,500 hectares of the Maungataniwha Pine Forest have now been logged since 2006 and are now in the process of being re-converted back to native forest by land owner Simon Hall, Chairman of the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust.

The land lies adjacent to the Maungataniwha Native Forest, a 6,120-hectare swathe of New Zealand bush straddling the ridge system between the Te Hoe and Waiau Rivers in northern Hawkes Bay, bordered to the north by Te Urewera National Park and to the west by the Whirinaki Conservation Forest. . . 

Rural women need access to midwifery care:

Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) is very concerned that Wanaka is soon to lose one of the community’s two midwives.

“Midwives practicing in rural communities have long battled the problems of geographical isolation in areas where the population continues to grow,” says Board Member and Health Portfolio Convenor, Margaret Pittaway.

“Resourcing has been lacking for so long that rural families are suffering – it is absolutely unacceptable that expectant mothers and their families have been placed in the firing line. . . 

Bit chilly for February
What A turn around from 2weeks ago pic.twitter.com/Kk5oITE51X

— Robert Kempthorne (@mavorafarms) February 21, 2018

New Zealanders warned of stink bug risk to their own households:

Warnings are going out about the devastating impact the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug would have on New Zealand households and urban communities as the potential risk of an incursion escalates.

New Zealand Apples & Pears chief executive Alan Pollard is encouraging all New Zealanders to be on high alert because the Stink Bug was not just a risk for orchardists.

The Stink Bug would also be devastating to urban communities where home gardens would be destroyed and houses would become safe havens for the invasive pest, he said.

Mr Pollard praised the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for the work that they are doing to protect New Zealand’s borders against the Stink Bug, including four shipments of cars from Japan recently turned away from entering the country. He has also commended Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O’Connor, for making biosecurity his number one priority. . . 

Duty free milk powder in a country where they appreciate quality, luxury and the better things in life #Februdairy promoting a great industry that helps feed us all but especially the children of the world @februdairy pic.twitter.com/2Jkk6On4mW

— Prof David Barrett (@davidbarrettvet) February 21, 2018

Dairy farming – the ancient history of producing milk – K. Kris Hirst:

Milk-producing mammals were an important part of early agriculture in the world. Goats were among our earliest domesticated animals, first adapted in western Asia from wild forms about 10,000 to 11,000 years ago. Cattle were domesticated in the eastern Sahara by no later than 9,000 years ago. We surmise that at least one primary reason for this process was to make a source of meat easier to get than by hunting.

But domestic animals also are good for milk and milk products like cheese and yogurt (part of what V.G. Childe and Andrew Sherratt once called the Secondary Products Revolution). So–when did dairying first start and how do we know that?

The earliest evidence to date for the processing of milk fats comes from the Early Neolithic of the seventh millennium BC in northwestern Anatolia; the sixth millennium BC in eastern Europe; the fifth millennium BC in Africa; and the fourth millennium BC in Britain and Northern Europe (Funnel Beaker culture). . . 

Forget sauvignon blanc, New Zealand’s new big thing is pinot noir Elin McCoy:

Actor Sam Neill just finished a six-part television documentary on the voyages of Captain Cook, but right now he’s focused on the role of proud farmer. I’m walking with him on a tour of his organic vineyard in Central Otago on the South Island of New Zealand as he shows off his prize pigs and pulls out bottles of his much-talked-about Two Paddocks pinot noirs.

“What do you think?” he asks.

Thumbs up, for sure. 

When it comes to wine, New Zealand is on a roll. According to a just-released Vinexpo study, it’s now the fastest-growing wine-exporting country to the U.S. By 2021, it’s predicted to become the No. 4 exporter to the U.S., right behind Italy, Australia, and France—which is pretty remarkable, considering that the country makes barely 1 percent of the world’s wines. . . 

Young leaders to drive conversations at agritech event:

New Zealand’s agritech community will be joined by some of the country’s best young leaders at MobileTECH 2018. One of the key highlights at the upcoming agritech event is the ‘Meet the future leaders’ panel.

“In addition to unveiling the very latest agritech innovations, we have lined up three emerging leaders to share their visions on just where the technology is heading, what areas they see as the most beneficial to their businesses and how it will impact on the sector’s future,” says Ken Wilson, programme manager for the MobileTECH 2018 event. . . 

Rural round-up

Ban kids from riding quad bikes RCH surgeon urges – Warwick Teague:

IN MY work as a surgeon and trauma prevention advocate, I see few better places to start saving lives than a ban on children getting on quad bikes.

This is a hard line, too hard for some, but I would challenge anyone — farmer, doctor, lawyer, voter, seller, buyer, parent or child to answer the question: How many more children do you think need to be injured on quad bikes before we say “Enough is enough”?

Since 2001, 42 Aussie kids aged under 16 have died from quad bike trauma. . .

Using technology to give farmers an eye in the sky:

Is there anything technology can’t do? It seems everyday something new pops up that makes our lives easier… and now one Taranaki dairy farmer has taken this to new heights, using a drone to get his cows in.

Hayden Fowles says it’s not just about getting the herd to the shed quicker, the drone also helps him keep his cows healthy.

“It gives me another pair of eyes. I can check for lameness and anything that might appear a bit odd sooner than I would if I was on foot or bike.”

Not only is the drone helping to keep his cows healthy, it’s also helping to improve his on-farm health and safety.

“It means a lot less time on and off the bike and I don’t need to go on to the steeper land.” . . 

BREAKING: Minette Batters has been elected as the new NFU President #NFU18 pic.twitter.com/xVR0GqSKcx

— NationalFarmersUnion (@NFUtweets) February 21, 2018

NFU elects new officeholder team:

Minette Batters has been elected as the new President of the National Farmers’ Union.

Ms Batters, a beef farmer from Wiltshire, has been elected for a two-year term alongside Guy Smith as Deputy President and Stuart Roberts as Vice President.

The election took place after the AGM of the NFU Council, a representative body made up of its elected members, following the annual NFU Conference.

Ms Batters said: “I am delighted to have been elected as President of the NFU and I am grateful to all the members who have given me the opportunity to lead our industry through Brexit and beyond.

“At the heart of the NFU is its members and I would like the organisation to aim even higher on their behalf. British farming is in the spotlight like never before and this is a great opportunity to reposition the sector in the eyes of the nation. . . 

@nzagrifoodweek brings together #farmers, #agribusiness professionals and food producers to shape the future of food production in one week. Here's 4 reasons you won't want to miss it. Register your interest: https://t.co/UytPAXAJG1 #nzagrifoodweek pic.twitter.com/9lYjcSnzKI

— NZ AgriFood Week (@NZAgriFoodWeek) February 19, 2018

A2 Milk first-half profit soars 150%, aligns itself with Fonterra in new supply deal – Sophie Boot:

(BusinessDesk) – A2 Milk more than doubled first-half profit on strong infant formula sales and has aligned itself with Fonterra Cooperative Group which will see the two companies partner up on a range of products.

Net profit rose to $98.5 million in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $39.4 million a year earlier as sales climbed to $434.6 million from $256 million, Auckland-based, Sydney-headquartered a2 said. . . 

A2 shares soar 25%, making it NZ’s biggest listed company – Paul McBeth:

(BusinessDesk) – A2 Milk Co shares jumped 25 percent, making the milk marketing firm New Zealand’s biggest listed company on a deal that will give it backing from Fonterra Cooperative Group.

The stock gained $2.31 to $11.60, valuing a2 Milk at $8.47 billion, toppling Auckland International Airport at $7.75 billion, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare at $7.37 billion and Meridian Energy at $7.29 billion. The spike underpinned the S&P/NZX 50 index, which gained 1.5 percent to 8,215.63 as at 2.35pm. . . 

No Change to Existing Synlait And A2 Milk Infant Formula Supply Arrangements:

Synlait Milk Limited and The a2 Milk Company Limited wish to clarify that the announcements made today by The a2 Milk Company and Fonterra do not change Synlait’s exclusive infant formula supply arrangements to The a2 Milk Company.

Synlait and The a2 Milk Company have an exclusive long-term supply agreement for the production of the a2 Platinum® infant formula range for China, Australia and New Zealand. . . 

Red Meat Sector welcomes release of the CPTPP text and National Interest Analysis:

The release of the text of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (CPTPP) and New Zealand’s National Interest Analysis represents important progress for trade leadership in the Asia-Pacific region, say the Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).

‘CPTPP brings some of the largest and most dynamic economies in the Asia-Pacific together around a common goal’, says B+LNZ Chief Executive, Sam McIvor.

MIA Chief Executive, Tim Ritchie, said ‘This new agreement addresses concerns many New Zealanders had with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is a deal that is good for trade and good for New Zealand.  . . 

Bringing in ewes and lambs from Antelope Paddock for weaning. #sheep365 #farming pic.twitter.com/nS7GJzWF4u

— Hew Grierson (@BlueBeachFarm) February 20, 2018