Farmers taking massive blow from disease cull to protect others – Andrew Morrison:
This time last year few of us had even heard of Mycoplasma bovis and now this disease is proving devastating to a group of cattle farmers.
We have seen the heart-wrenching scenes of farmers loading otherwise healthy cows onto trucks headed for slaughter and have listened to the descriptions from farmers who have to wake up every morning to the silence of farms devoid of livestock.
Last month, the Government with industry support made the decision to pursue a phased eradication of this production-limiting disease.
Knowing the pain it was going to cause some farmers meant that it was not a decision made lightly. These farmers are taking a massive blow to protect the 99 per cent of farmers who don’t have Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) on their properties. We, as an industry, need to do everything we can to support these people both financially and emotionally. . .
North Otago calves confirmed to have had M bovis -Conan Young:
A North Otago farmer who lost her farm after having to deal with a mystery illness has had it confirmed her calves that year had Mycoplasma bovis.
Susan McEwan’s story featured on RNZ’s Checkpoint and Insight programmes.
At that stage she suspected the reason she lost 600 of the 3000 animals she was raising to arthritis and pneumonia, was due to Mycoplasma bovis, but had no way to prove it. . .
Farm exports growing – Sally Rae:
A strong export performance and farm profitability results, despite a variety of challenges, is testament to the resilience of farmers, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report says.
That resilience provided confidence farmers would be able to adapt to future disruptions such as climate change, adverse events or potential trade issues.
It was also reflected in MPI’s medium-term outlook for annual export growth to range between 1.2% to 2.6% between 2019 and 2022.
Primary sector exports are forecast to exceed $46 billion by the end of the outlook period.
Production and export volumes were forecast to be relatively stable, particularly in dairy and meat and wool. . .
Keeping tradition alive after 50 years of Feildays – Horiana Henderson:
Kerepehi stalwart, Alex Quinn is committed to Fieldays and has the golden “50 years commemorating support” award, and a cap, to prove it.
In typical fashion, he was to be found amongst the agricultural equipment ready with a big smile and friendly conversation. He is the owner of Quinn Engineering and attended the first Fieldays with his father Eddie Quinn.
In the 1960s, Eddie created a tractor attachment for handling hay called the Baleboy and brought it to market at Fieldays in 1970. . .
NZ missing a trick when it comes to selling our food overseas – Heather Chalmers:
The Government needs to invest in a national food brand in the same way it spends $100 million each year to promote New Zealand as a tourist destination, says an agrifood marketing expert.
Synlait’s infant formula sold in the United States was “unashamedly branded” as coming from New Zealand grass-fed dairy cows, but most New Zealand products were unbranded, said Lincoln University agribusiness management senior lecturer Nic Lees.
This was despite research that showed most western consumers view New Zealand food as the next best thing to their own products.
“This research was done by the University of Florida. This is an example of how little market research we do as a country into understanding perceptions of our food in different countries.” . .
Stay ahead of the game deer farmers urged – Alexia Johnston:
Deer farmers are being urged to ”stay ahead of the game”.
Those words of advice were the key theme at this year’s Deer Industry New Zealand (Dinz) annual conference, recently hosted in Timaru.
Dinz CEO Dan Coup said the three-day event, which included a field trip to Mesopotamia Station, was a success, helped by the positive attitude by those in attendance. . .
Getting calves off to a great start – Peter Burke:
Dairy farmers and calf rearers will in a few months be flat-out dealing with new life on farms. AgResearch scientist Dr Sue McCoard and colleagues are working on adding valuable science and data to this important task.
Sue McCoard says she and her fellow researchers, in partnership with the industry, are researching different feeds and feeding management options and their impact on whole-of-life performance. . .
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