Strong uptake of good wintering practices
DairyNZ has seen a significant increase in the number of farmers improving their wintering practices, which results in a higher standard of animal care and environmental protection.
Dairy farmers at Fieldays went searching for information on Mycoplasma bovis.
DairyNZ, in the pavilion, were ready for them with a booklet about the disease.
Dr Nita Harding, DairyNZ’s veterinary technical policy advisor, says DNZ had earlier live-streamed a farmers meeting near Auckland and this is now on Facebook. And a technical person on the site answered questions about M.bovis and biosecurity in general.
“Many farmers have called our 0800 number and used our info@dairynz email address so we got a steady stream of queries. These are answered either by our 0800 person who’s very knowledgeable, or… by the technical people in DairyNZ.”
The questions are a mix of technical and general, much in response to information provided by MPI. Farmers in areas where farms are infected are naturally concerned and ask first, what does this mean for me?
“There is a lot of rumour out there so if we can get the right information out to farmers it helps everyone understand what’s going on. It gives them confidence and removes some of the stigma.
“M.bovis is not a highly infectious disease; you are not going to pick this up by talking to your neighbour.
“It’s the cows, not the farmer, who have the disease and the children coming to school are not going to bring it to school.”
Harding says farmers whose properties are diseased need all possible support from their community.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the relationship between New Zealand and the US will remain strong and enduring irrespective of changing administrations.
More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) says securing more China label registrations and developing its own nutritional manufacturing capability are high on its agenda.
Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.
As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.
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