DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ wrap up M. bovis compensation support after $161M in claims
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
New Zealand Dairy Statistics for the 2019/20 season reveal the season was a productive one for dairy farmers.
The statistics, released by DairyNZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), show that New Zealand dairy companies processed 21.1 billion litres of milk, containing 1.90 billion kgMS, marking a 0.6% increase in milksolids from the previous season.
Meanwhile, the latest count reveals that New Zealand has 4.921 million milking cows, a 0.5% decrease from the 2018-19 season.
According to DairyNZ, this increase in productivity is due to farmer uptake of herd improvement tools such as herd testing and animal breeding.
“Interest in the highest genetic merit animals continues to grow year-on-year, with farmers investing in the latest artificial breeding technologies and indexes that focus on productivity, as well as animal welfare and the environment,” a DairyNZ spokesperson told Dairy News.
“Farmers are also considering feed quality for their herds, while seasonal factors such as weather conditions which affect feed also have an impact on milk production,” they said.
“These factors have all meant that despite cow numbers reducing, our cows are more productive than ever.”
They say that innovation and research will continue its role in ensuring the productivity of the national herd.
“New innovations, research and agritech solutions will also continue to play a role in ensuring that farmers can breed more productive and profitable cows.”
In the 2019-20 season, 3.68 million cows were herd tested.
Labour's agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton says while New Zealand needs more housing, sacrificing our best farmland to get there is not the answer.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its…
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content…