Climate-friendly cows closer
Dairy farmers are one step closer to breeding cow with lower methane emissions, offering an innovative way to reduce the nation's agricultural carbon footprint without compromising farm productivity.
Six years of exceptional dairy progeny will remain the legacy of CRV Ambreed jersey bull Okura Lika Murmur as he retires this month, the company says.
Breeding manager Aaron Parker says Murmur has given nearly 500,000 doses of semen, and has 22,464 daughters herd testing in New Zealand and a long list of sons.
He is credited with having expanded CRV Ambreed's exporting market, especially in South Africa, North America and Australia.
"He has bred outstanding sons and daughters with super production, udder and capacity traits," says Parker. "Hundreds of his cows have been contract mated in NZ and as a sire of sons he has produced some of country's best Jersey bulls."
This season six Murmur sons were released to market as 'daughter proven sires' and are among NZ's highest ranking bulls including Roma Murmur Kingpin, Kaitaka Murmur Lazarus and Ashvale OLM Highlite.
"Kingpin, CRV Ambreed's highest selling jersey sire this season, is a superstar in production because he is Murmur's son."
Other sons and grandsons include Kingpin's son, Puketawa King Connacht JG.
"Connacht is an elite young sire in our Jersey team this year based on his parental information and scientific data. With his daughters coming into milk this season, we expect to see big things from him," Parker said.
Murmur was bought in 2005 from breeders Luke and Lyna Beehre of the Okura Stud, north of Whangarei. The stud bred Okura Manhatten, a game changer for the industry.
Parker says after Manhatten, Murmur is the next most influential Jersey sire to have been bred in NZ. "We will be hearing Murmur's name in the dairy industry for many years."
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
Fonterra has slashed another 50c off its milk price forecast as global milk flows shows no sign of easing.
Meat processors are hopeful that the additional 15% tariff on lamb exports to the US will also come off.