New associate director for DairyNZ
After 20 years of milking cows, Northland farmer Greg Collins is ready to step into the governance side of dairy.
DairyNZ says its focus on farm profit last year is paying dividends.
Chief executive Tim Mackle says over 2000 regional discussions groups with case study farms were held during 2014-15.
He says the exercise achieved an average gain of $90,000 after implementing action plans; an increase of 50% over the previous year.
This year DairyNZ will spend $17 million on farm profit activities, 2% more than last year.
Mackle says the activities include field days to help farmers weather the low milk payouts.
Other top spends this year will be R&D ($18m), biosecurity and product integrity ($17m), environmental stewardship ($13m) and people ($8m).
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
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