Red meat sector battles on
It's a bloody tough year for sheep farmers, but the worst may be over, and the future looks optimistic.
The New Zealand Dairy Workers Union is talking to dairy processors on how workers would isolate if they contract Covid.
Union general secretary Chris Flatt says part of these ongoing discussions relate to sick leave and how people can isolate if they get sick.
He notes that, like in the cities, there are multi-generational households in rural areas and that presents its own challenges.
"The Government has talked about some support around this as well, but we need to ensure workers can isolate and be off work and not feel pressured to go back to work early," he told Dairy News.
"A lot of our collectives have good sick-leave provisions. From what we have seen overseas, we need to prepare for huge amounts of sick leave to be taken," he says.
At the same time, Flatt says they have to look after people and make sure that they are not doing too much, and that their collective employment agreement terms are complied with.
"But at the same time recognising there may need to be some flexibility on certain sites because we could have large numbers of workers just being on sick leave.
"We have been through the discussions in the last 24 months, making sure that in lockdown people are safe... but I am now looking ahead to see, what does that look like in terms of supply lines, such as picking up milk?"
The Neogen World Angus Forum, a major event in global Angus beef industry, is set to return in 2025.
Whatever an animal is raised for, it deserves a good life — and just as importantly, a “good death”.
North Canterbury dairy farmer and recently-elected deputy chair of DairyNZ, Cameron Henderson, is enjoying a huge reduction in irrigation water use after converting a pivot irrigator to drag perforated drip tubes across the ground instead of elevated sprinkler heads.
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Rugby league legend Tawera Nikau is set to inspire, celebrate and entertain at the East Coast Farming Expo's very popular Property Broker's Evening Muster.
Fonterra has announced $15 million in investments in electrification projects across the North Island over the next 18 months.
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