Hope from the high country – Philip Todhunter:
Covid-19? It’s like opening your front door and finding two metres of snow on the ground just after you’d put all your new fencing in.
The fences have been wrecked. You look at the damage, you shake your head, and then you get on with managing your way through it.
In the back of your mind, you know that spring will come, the tonnes of snow will melt, and the grass will grow again.
Farmers are an optimistic bunch. We’re used to things going in cycles: weather patterns, commodity prices, market demand … but we also know that sometimes the wheel doesn’t turn the whole way round, sometimes the change is permanent. . .
Coronavirus: can the economy recover – Andrea Vance and Iain McGregor:
The economic ride down is likely to be sharp and steep. But when consumers eventually emerge from lockdown, what will the recovery look like? Andrea Vance and Iain McGregor investigate.
Weighing sheep in a yard in the brown foothills of North Canterbury’s Hundalee Hills, Ben Ensor is an unlikely soldier on the frontline of New Zealand’s economic recovery.
As the country prepared to shut down, to stop the spread of coronavirus, the sheep and beef farmer was separating merino stock under the shadow of rustic woolshed. Hooves beat up clouds of dust, as his farm dog herded them into a race.
With 6000 sheep, and around 500 cattle, Ensor can’t close down. Like nurses, doctors, pharmacists and supermarket staff, farming and cropping have been deemed “essential“. . .
Kiwifruit taste test goes south :
Kiwifruit growers will not be paid for their fruit’s taste profile this season after the country’s only testing facility dropped the test.
Eurofins Bay of Plenty is the country’s only testing facility for the drymatter component of kiwifruit, which gives growers and Zespri a direct indication of the fruit’s taste profile.
The lab now tests only for residues in fruit, leaving post-harvest processors grappling with how to evaluate fruit quality. . .
Keep calm, carry on – Colin Williscroft:
The Government is well aware of farming’s importance and is doing everything it can to ensure the primary sector continues to operate as close to normal as possible, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says.
“Farming has been the backbone of New Zealand and that will that continue long into the future,” O’Connor says.
Cabinet understands the role farming plays in the economy, along with the need to maintain farming systems subject to seasonal and biological cycles, including the lifecycle of animals and grass growth, restrictions other businesses around the country are not subject to. . .
Meat industry in better shape today to cope with downturn – Allan Barber:
When I started to trawl through possible topics to write about this week, I had the bright idea it might be worth asking meat processors what contingency plans they have in place in case an employee, more particularly one on the processing floor, tests positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus. So far my research suggests it’s not yet an issue that has received a great deal of consideration by many companies, although it’s certainly on their radar.
In an update to farmers, Silver Fern Farms states its position as “The reality is that an outbreak, or the understandable precautionary response of our people, is likely to see an impact on our processing capacity in coming weeks. It is realistic to expect that with a workforce of 7000 we will at least have precautionary isolation within our workforce. We have processes in place to ensure that, should this occur, it can be managed. We are working on the various contingent options and will keep you updated should there be any disruption to processing.” . .
Coronavirus: George Eustice applauds farmers as ‘hidden heroes’ :
Defra Secretary George Eustice has labelled farmers ‘hidden heroes’ for keeping food on the nation’s plates during the Covid-19 crisis.
In an open letter to the food and farming industry, Mr Eustice paid tribute to ‘all those who are working around the clock to keep the nation fed.’
The statement described farmers’ response so far as ‘extraordinary’ and thanked those involved in food production on behalf of the country.
“In the face of what is perhaps the greatest health challenge this country has faced in our lifetime, I want to pay tribute to all those who are working around the clock to keep the nation fed,” he said. . .
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