Tuesday, 26 October 2021 07:55

$40b injected into economy

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says every Kiwi is benefitting from dairy's contribution to our country. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says every Kiwi is benefitting from dairy's contribution to our country.

The dairy industry's total economic contribution to New Zealand's economy topped $40 billion last season.

DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel revealed this at the industry-good body's annual general meeting last week.

He told the online AGM that he is proud of farmers' contribution to the economic wellbeing of the country.

The contribution was helped by a high milk price by all processors to their suppliers.

Van der Poel noted the role dairy still plays in New Zealand's economy as Covid-19 continues to affect communities.

"Every Kiwi is benefitting from dairy's contribution to our country.

"Covid-19 has also affected farmers beyond the farm gate, exacerbating staff shortages. DairyNZ has been strongly advocating for immigration policy changes to help address this issue.

"We were pleased to see that thousands of dairy workers can now apply for residency, following some hard work by DairyNZ, Federated Farmers and farmers to push the urgency of migrant workers being able to settle in New Zealand."

Van der Poel noted that the last season was a challenging one for many farmers.

He also shared the good news that perception of dairy farmers among New Zealanders was improving.

DairyNZ's Vision is Clear campaign profiled 60 farmers over the last three years, showing what they have done for the environment.

Some 1.7 million Kiwis saw the campaign and an estimated 63% of Kiwis who have seen the campaign feel positively towards dairy farmers, said van der Poel.

"When the campaign started in 2018, only 43% of New Zealanders felt that way," he says. "We have seen a big change in only three years."

The chair also touched on the success of the Mycoplasma bovis eradication campaign.

"As a result of hard work by farmers and partner organisations, we are also winning the M. bovis battle," he says.

By October 2021 only two farms in New Zealand had active M. bovis - down from 34 two years ago.

"We know that M. bovis has created a significant amount of stress for farmers, and we have been focused on working with programme partners to improve biosecurity and farmer support," he says.

In his brief report, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle touched on a few highlights, including a DairyNZ-commissioned AgResearch report released in January that found New Zealand dairy farmers have the world's lowest carbon footprint - at half the emissions of other international producers.

"We shared this story widely with media and politicians, ultimately reaching an estimated 3.4 million people. This position is a great starting point but also a challenge for us going forward as we navigate how to reduce our emissions even further," said Mackle.

Major projects being run by DairyNZ include a genomic selection research programme on developing higher yielding pastures with a lower environmental footprint.

Mackles says this has the potential to improve yields by between $400 million to $1.3 billion annually by 2040.

Researchers are also making good progress in using genetics to predict cow fertility through puberty timing.

This could enable farmers to breed more fertile herds and deliver environmental benefits, through fewer stock on farms, he says.

More farmers are adopting flexible milking to create a better lifestyle or to manage staff shortages. This shift is also proving to have animal health benefits.

DairyNZ has been trialling cows being milked three times in two days as opposed to being milked twice a day.

Mackle says one trial herd showed a 5% drop in milksolids production compared to milking twice a day but cows were in much better condition.

More like this

OSPRI's costly software upgrade

Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of a major software project.

Musical chairs

OPINION: DairyNZ's director elections has seen scientist Jacqueline Rowarth re-elected for another three-year term.

DairyNZ levy to increase?

Retiring chair Jim van der Poel has used his final AGM to announce the intention to increase the DairyNZ farmer levy for the first time in the industry-good body's 17-year history.

Featured

LCAs tackle false narratives

The quest to measure, report and make sense of the energy that goes into food production has come a long way in the past 25 years.

OSPRI's costly software upgrade

Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of a major software project.

Organic sector backtracks on GE

Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) says the Government’s new gene editing and genetic modification reforms could leave New Zealand as an outlier on the global stage.

$3b windfall?

Fonterra's proposed sale of its global consumer business could fetch over $3 billion but not all proceeds will end up in the pockets of farmer shareholders.

National

MilkHub sold

Milk vat manufacturer DTS is selling its dairy automation business to MilktechNZ.

'Quite a journey'

Former Synlait chief executive Grant Watson says the past two years have been quite the journey.

DairyNZ levy to increase?

Retiring chair Jim van der Poel has used his final AGM to announce the intention to increase the DairyNZ farmer…

Machinery & Products

Milk Sustainability Centre launched

The recently announced Milk Sustainability Centre – a collaboration between global giant John Deere and milking and feed specialists De…

Data connection made easier

New Holland and Case IH are introducing new advancements in their precision technology stack to make farming easier and more…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Virtual fence probe

OPINION: Should there be an inquiry into virtual fencing technology for cows?

Time to reset

OPINION: New Zealand needs a rethink about how banks allocate capital.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter