Rural round-up

Fonterra is investing in  artificial meat but would you eat it? – Bonnie Flaws:

Are cows evil? You could be forgiven for thinking so.

If the alternative protein companies are right, it’s much better to eat reconfigured soy-protein with genetically modified heme, or even meat grown in a lab, than eat an actual cow.

The question is timely because in a surprise move Fonterra announced last month it was  investing in Motif Ingredients, a Boston biotech startup that wants to use genetic engineering and cultured ingredients to “make foods that are more sustainable, healthier, delicious, and more accessible”.

While people had different feelings about eating lab-cultured meat, there was a common concern around healthy and safety from those spoken to. . .

Federated Farmers urges perseverance on NAIT re-registration:

Technical and other issues are not helping with re-registration for the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme but Federated Farmers is urging all farmers to persevere.

“This is too important to backslide on. The Mycoplasma bovis issue has highlighted why we need excellent levels of compliance with NAIT,” Feds Dairy Chairperson Chris Lewis says.

“All of us – farmers and OSPRI – need to pull together to get NAIT working well. In terms of eradicating M. bovis, to borrow the words of Ed Hillary, that’s the way we’ll ‘knock the bastard off’.” . . .

M Bovis: Thousands of dairy farms not on tracking system as moving day looms :

Almost 8000 dairy locations are yet to re-register to a national tracking system, with just days to go until moving day, when sharemilkers move their cows to new farms around the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture says there are 14,940 dairy locations around New Zealand; 7034 have re-registered, 7906 are yet to do so – so more than half. One farm can consist of several NAIT locations, a ministry spokeswoman says.

It means moving day will be an anxious one for many because the main way Mycoplasma bovis spreads is through the movement of animals. . . 

On #June1st it is #WorldMilkDay – we are proud to feed the world 🌎 this nutritious food! I’m grateful to @dairy_women for being awarded the @Fonterra DWOTY Dairy Woman of the Year Award 2019. #raiseaglass and join us on Saturday! #taranaki @taranakinews pic.twitter.com/py1bYNnaac

— Trish & Glen Rankin (@Chalkcheese77) May 27, 2019

Merino growers celebrate their best – Sally Rae:

Excellence in producing merino wool has been recognised at the Otago Merino Association’s annual awards function.

About 170 people attended the event in Alexandra on Friday night, where the winners of the Clip of the Year and Child Cancer Foundation fleece competition were named.

The overall Clip of the Year title went to the Sutherland family, from Benmore Station, a property synonymous with high-quality fine wool. . . 

Finalists announced for inaugural Primary Industry Awards:

The following nominations are the successful finalists for the Primary Industries Awards, to be presented at a gala dinner sponsored by FMG in Wellington on July 1.

The awards are part of the Primary Industries Awards Summit, on July 1 – 2.

The awards aim to shine a spotlight on the important role the primary sector plays in the economy and honour the most successful and innovative primary industries’ producers and supporters. . .

Wairarapa Cricket Farm to provide 100% Kiwi cricket flour:

A cricket farm in the Wairarapa will be the first of its kind in New Zealand to provide 100% locally sourced cricket flour.

Rebel Bakehouse began work on its cricket farm 18 months ago, to ultimately provide flour for its new cricket flour wraps which were launched into Kiwi supermarkets in March 2019.

Chris Petersen, of Rebel Bakehouse, says making cricket flour and cricket wraps respond to consumer demand for healthier alternatives in the bread aisle. . .

What makes you proud to say, "I'm a farmer" when people ask what you do? #Y2KFarmer #changethecultureoffarming pic.twitter.com/cOzT0DcM4S

— Millennium Farming (@TheY2KFarmer) May 27, 2019

NZ Horticulture exceeds $9.2 billion:

New Zealand horticulture is well on track to meet its goal of $10 billion by 2020. The industry was valued at $9.2 billion in the year ending 30 June, 2018, up $400 million from 2017. The increase was driven by a strong growth in exports, which rose to $5.5 billion from $5.1 billion the year before.

According to the latest Fresh Facts, published annually by Plant & Food Research since 1999, horticultural exports tripled from $1.7 billion 20 years ago. They now accounted for almost 10% of New Zealand’s total merchandise exports. . .

Rural round-up

New technologies will ‘not be enough’ to hit emission targets – Gerald Piddock:

As thousands of schoolchildren held nationwide strikes to demand action on climate change, 200 dairy farmers gathered in Rotorua to hear the latest science around ways the industry can lower its emissions.

What they heard at the DairyNZ Farmers Forum was there are no silver bullets to help the industry lower its emissions enough to hit the 47 per cent target by 2050 outlined in the Zero Carbon Bill currently going through Parliament.

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said he supported the principle of what the students were striking on. . . 

Quake farmers back to normal – Annette Scott:

Clarence Valley farmers say there are lessons to be learned following the Kaikoura earthquake that geologists claim is the biggest land uplift ever recorded in the world.

November 14, 2016, is well remembered in the Clarence Valley farming community as the day a 7.8 earthquake transformed their land.

The worst hit, Rick and Julia King of Middle Hill Station, lost everything except their will to keep farming. . . 

Farming his way back to nature – Colin Williscroft:

Hawke’s Bay farmers Greg and Rachel Hart are committed to producing top-quality food by using nature as a guide while re-establishing a connection between people and the land that sustains them. Colin Williscroft visited to see what they are doing.

Optimising life – whether that’s soil life, plant life, animal health or the people who make it happen – is a guiding principle for Central Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer Greg Hart.

Greg, who farms Mangarara Station near Elsthorpe with his wife Rachel and children George, Bill and Emma, operates a farming system focused not only on being productive in the short term. It has a longer-term focus, aiming to regenerate the land while helping build stronger connections between the landscape and people.

A key is balancing relationships between nature and production agriculture as part of ecosystem restoration, including a focus on soil health, carbon sequestration and planting native and food-producing trees. . . 

Mechanised future for fruit orchards – Yvonne O’Hara:

The orchard of the future will be highly digitised and more productive, with fruit being grown in a protected environment and tended by robots, says Plant and Food Research (PFR) scientist Dr Jill Stanley.

She said human workers would still be in demand as labour requirements would be the same but there would be less pressure at peak times.

Dr Stanley was the guest speaker at the Alexandra, Clyde and Districts Business Group’s monthly breakfast meeting last Friday and talked about what the horticulture sector would look like by 2050. . . 

Farmers need to embrace technology – Diane Bishop:

The day before his 50th birthday Conor English left a secure high-profile job to start his own company, Agribusiness New Zealand.

It was a big risk, but one that has paid off for the former Southlander.

English was the keynote speaker at the Southern Primary Sector Update conference, hosted by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill on Friday. . .

A rare & special photo opportunity while visiting Parkside Limestone Quarry on the Whitestone Hot Rod Club memorial run at Oamaru pic.twitter.com/MXWmlBGk4r

— Mike Porter (@mikeonthehills) May 25, 2019

Best days ahead at Telford –

As you pull up to the gates of Telford, the sight before you may not be what you expected to see in the middle of the South Otago countryside.

An impressive historic stone building surrounded by established rolling gardens is your first glimpse into the state-of-the-art offering Telford gives for anyone who chooses to study at the institution. As the heart of the Telford campus, many young minds have walked in through those doors and work-ready agricultural specialists have come back out.

A staple of New Zealand farming history and agricultural education since 1964, Telford’s Balclutha campus extends over 921 hectares of with halls of residence and facilities, technical workshops (machinery, carpentry and welding), classrooms and livestock units. . .