Timaru-Bred Bull Takes Out 2026 Mahoe Trophy
An LIC bull, Tronnoco AR Sadio-ET S3F, bred by Tony and Keri O'Connor of Tronnoco Farming Co Ltd near Timaru, has won the 2026 Mahoe Trophy.
DAIRY FARMER cooperative, LIC, has bought the assets and business of Waikato-based Dairy Automation Limited (DAL).
DAL manufactures sensor technology for the real time (on farm) analysis of milk. The new ownership starts tomorrow (March 1) and the business will continue to be known as DAL. It will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of LIC (NZ) Ltd with the same staff and from the same location in Hamilton.
LIC chairman Murray King said while most dairy farmers rely on official herd testing to monitor the production performance of their herds "a number want to make more use of complementary services providing daily insight to the components of the milk their cows are producing – volume, fat, protein, mastitis etc.
"LIC is committed to pushing forward with new innovations that provide farmers with choice in the method of animal performance assessment on their farms, and the acquisition of DAL complements that choice."
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
I think it's going to greatly weaken National at the election. That's the view of a former senior National MP on the recent attempted coup against Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Despite political shenanigans in Wellington, farmers are confident that Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will get over the line in this term of Parliament.
New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
"What's for dinner?" may sound like a simple question, but for many Kiwi parents, answering it has become a job in itself.
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