Dairy unity
OPINION: A last-minute compromise ensured that the election of the new Federated Farmers national dairy chair wasn't a repeat of the Super 15 rugby final - Canterbury versus Waikato.
Generators are being organised for dairy farmers in the upper South Island so that they could milk cows, says Federated Farmers North Canterbury Dairy chairperson Michael Woodward.
He says farmers north of Culverden have been hit hard by the 7.5 earthquake and aftershocks.
Woodward told Rural News website that many farms were without power; there were also reports of rotary milking platforms damaged.
“We have been told herringbone milking sheds are okay; some rotary platforms were dislodged by the earthquake,” he says.
The biggest problems facing affected farmers are power supply and accessibility to farms.
“We are organising generators from farms in non-affected areas and making arrangements to send them to farmers,” Woodward says.
He says the hardest hit areas include Waiau, where damaged roads and bridges affect accessibility to farms; milk collection will be a problem.
“Road closures mean tankers will be going nowhere near some of the farms.”
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
This past week has seen another round of negotiations between India and New Zealand to produce a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Cautiously optimistic is how DairyNZ's regional manager for the lower North Island, Mark Laurence describes the mood of farmers in his patch.
The Infrastructure Commission has endorsed a plan by Chorus to expand fibre broadband to 95% of New Zealand much to the delight of rural women.
Questions are being raised about just how good the state of the dairy industry is - especially given that the average farmgate payout for the coming season is set to exceed $10/kgMS.
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